ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Community Transport Fund (Essex)

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many passenger journeys were delivered in a typical month for each of the Community Transport Fund's projects in Essex

Alun Michael: The purpose of these projects is to test out a variety of approaches to improving access to transport in rural areas. Passenger journeys per month from the four schemes able to provide information are as follows:
	Family Support Clacton—average 200 passenger journeys per month
	Chelmsford Dial A Ride—average 209 passenger journeys per month
	Family Support Brightlingsea—average 460 passenger journeys per month
	Epping Forest CVS Project—average of 470 passenger journeys per month.
	The other projects are a mixture of research work, driver and volunteer recruitment and lift sharing schemes, or have not yet made any passenger journey figures available to the Countryside Agency.

Community Transport Fund (Essex)

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what options are open to (a) Essex County Council and (b) Castle Point Borough Council for the provision of community and welfare transport for (i) disabled and (ii) elderly people in Castle Point when the current funding scheme expires in April 2005.

Alun Michael: Following changes to the regulations which will be complete by 1 April 2004, local authorities will be able to support the full range of community and other transport schemes for the disabled and elderly from their own resources, for example, revenue support grant, rural bus subsidy grants and Local Transport Plan funding.
	The Countryside Agency's Rural Transport Partnership scheme has proved very successful in showing what can be achieved through local engagement. In the short space of three years it has raised the profile of rural transport issues and shown how much can be achieved by taking an innovative and flexible approach. We look to local authorities to build on this from their mainstream resources.

Community Transport Fund (Essex)

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many bids under the Community Transport Fund in Essex have been (a) granted and (b) rejected; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The Rural Transport Partnership grant scheme is run by the Countryside Agency on behalf of Defra. In Essex 10 bids were awarded grants and one bid was rejected between April 2001 to February 2004.

Unsurfaced Roads

Bob Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with Her Majesty's Royal Engineers on the maintenance of unsurfaced roads when drafting the consultation paper Use of Mechanically Propelled Vehicles on Rights of Way; and what plans she has to do so during the consultation;
	(2)  on what basis her Department decided to reduce the time for the classification of highways to one year;
	(3)  how much the Highways Agency has spent on the maintenance of unsurfaced byways (a) in 2003–04 and (b) over the last decade;
	(4)  how much recreational traffic on unsurfaced roads has changed in the last decade;
	(5)  what (a) evidence her Department has collated and (b) investigations it has carried out, on (i) the level of motorcycle use of unsealed roads and (ii) the extent of the damage this has caused;
	(6)  whether her Department examined the Hierarchy of Trail Routes in the Lake District National Park and how the scheme could apply to the maintenance of unsurfaced roads when drafting the consultation paper Use of Mechanically Propelled Vehicles on Rights of Way.

Alun Michael: As set out in the recent consultation paper "The use of mechanically propelled vehicles on rights of way," I consider it inappropriate and unsustainable that historic evidence of use by horse-drawn vehicles or dedications for vehicular use at a time before the internal combustion engine existed can give rise to rights to use modern mechanically propelled vehicles. I have proposed that this should no longer be the case, but that a period of one year might be allowed for the recording of byways open to all traffic based on such evidence. I will consider carefully the responses to these proposals.
	As explained in the consultation paper, we intend to revise the advice andguidance on managing the different sorts of traffic on vehicular rights of way in the publication "Making the Best of Byways (1997)". In doing so, we will examine the Hierarchy of Trail Routes in the Lake District National Park and how a similar approach might improve the management of unsurfaced roads elsewhere. We will also look at various techniques for maintaining unsurfaced roads, including those used by Her Majesty's Royal Engineers, which have been applied with some success on the Ridgeway National Trail. The consultation paper invites views on any other ways in which "Making the Best of Byways" might be revised.
	Local highway authorities are responsible for maintaining rights of way, not the Highways Agency. Information on how much these authorities have spent on the maintenance of unsurfaced byways could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
	We are currently conducting a year-long study of a representative sample of byways open to all traffic, to collect evidence of the level of use of these ways by mechanically propelled vehicles and their surface condition. What is important and what we want to establish, is not how much the volume of traffic has changed, but what it is now and whether it is sustainable.

Batteries

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of used batteries was recycled in the UK in 2003.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 9 March 2004
	Latest figures (2002) show that 87 per cent. of automotive lead acid batteries in the UK were sent for recycling. The UK has one recycling plant for automotive lead acid batteries. Around 1 per cent. of portable batteries collected in UK are sent to France for recycling.

Batteries

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how her Department is working to ensure that the UK fulfils its obligation under EU law to recycle 45 per cent.of batteries each year.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 9 March 2004
	Proposals for a new Batteries Directive have only recently been seen and are yet to be negotiated in Europe. As a result, there is currently no EU law that stipulates a target for the collection of batteries. The proposals outline targets for collection of portable batteries of 160 grams per inhabitant per annum. For the UK, this equates to around 45 per cent. of batteries put on the market.
	At present, the UK is collecting less than 1 per cent. of household batteries. In anticipation of a collection target, both Defra and the DTI are in talks with those stakeholders affected by the proposal and are looking at ways to secure early participation. This will enable the UK to successfully meet a target for collection within a given timeframe. In addition, both Departments are fully involved in discussions with the European Commission and the European Parliament, to ensure that targets for the collection and recycling of household batteries are challenging but achievable.

GM Crops

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what provision she has made to ensure that Chardon LL maize will not be added to the National Seed List before arrangements have been made to restrict herbicide use on this crop in accordance with the advice of the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment and English Nature.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 9 March 2004
	I refer the hon. Member to the statement made to the House by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on Tuesday 9 March 2004.

GM Crops

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether Chardon LL fodder maize has a greater value for cultivation and use than the conventional varieties from which it was bred.

Elliot Morley: The value for cultivation and use of Chardon LL has not been compared with that of its parental lines or the equivalent non-GM variety. The criterion for addition to the UK National List is that it should, taking its qualities as a whole, represent a clear improvement compared with other forage maize varieties already on the UK List. Chardon has been assessed on this basis and found to meet the performance standards set to indicate a clear improvement.

Nappies

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how her Department is working with the (a) Department of Trade and Industry and (b) retail industry in order to promote the stocking of cotton nappies in order to give parents the choice of types.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 9 March 2004
	It is for individual retailers to decide on the products that they stock.
	I believe there is a wide range of re-usable nappies available both from local suppliers and through the internet. National retailers also stock re-usable nappies.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff were employed in (a) her Department and (b) each of the non-departmental public bodies for which her Department is responsible in each of the last 10 years.

Alun Michael: Defra was created on 8 June 2001 so I can only respond in respect of the period since that date. The figures given refer to that period.
	(a) The number of permanent staff in the core department and each Agency is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  October 2001 April 2002 April 2003 
		
		
			 Defra 7,970 6,980 6,690 
			 Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science 480 500 530 
			 Central Science Laboratory 580 610 650 
			 Pesticides Safety Directorate 190 180 170 
			 Rural Payments Agency(1) — 2,940 2,870 
			 Veterinary Laboratories Agency 1,160 1,230 1,290 
			 Veterinary Medicines Directorate 110 120 120 
			 Intervention Board Executive Agency 1,080 — — 
			 Total 11,570 12,560 12,320 
		
	
	(1) The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) was created on 16 October 2001, and took over the functions and staff of the IBEA on 15 November 2001.
	(b) Defra currently has responsibility for 18 executive non-departmental public bodies, 32 advisory bodies, 4 tribunals and 2 public corporations. The following table shows the number of staff employed in the public corporations and executive NDPBs; the advisory and tribunal NDPBs do not employ their own staff.
	
		
			  2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Public corporations
			 British Waterways Board 1,929 1,929 2,063 
			 Covent Garden Market Authority 39 39 40 
			 Executive NDPBs
			 Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales 0 0 0 
			 Agricultural Wages Committees for England and Wales 0 0 0 
			 Apple and Pear Research Council(2) 0.5 1 — 
			 British Potato Council 62 63 63 
			 Countryside Agency 509.15 631.5 625.4 
			 English Nature 783.5 825 1,030 
			 Environment Agency 10,476 10,595 10,595 
			 Food from Britain 26 26 26 
			 Home-Grown Cereals Authority 43.5 47.3 50 
			 Horticultural Development Council 15 13.5 12 
			 Horticulture Research International 567 502.5 484 
			 Joint Nature Conservation Committee 82 100 101 
			 Meat and Livestock Commission 678 666 666 
			 Milk Development Council 9 14 14 
			 National Forest Company 15.5 17 17 
			 Regional Flood Defence Committees 0 0 0 
			 Royal Botanic Gardens Kew 551 601 601 
			 Sea Fish Industry Authority 147 145 145 
			 United Kingdom Register of Organic Food Standards(3) 7 7 7 
			 Wine Standards Board 10.5 10.5 10.5 
			 Total 15,951 16,233 16,550 
		
	
	(2) Wound up 31 March 2003.
	(3) Wound up 18 July 2003.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Anti-Social Behaviour Orders

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Solicitor-General how many prosecutions have been brought by the Crown Prosecution Service for breach of an anti-social behaviour order in each of the last five years.

Harriet Harman: Information on anti-social behaviour orders is collated by the Home Office, and is available for the period from June 2000 to December 2002. During this period, 329 persons were prosecuted for breach of an anti-social behaviour order, 305 of whom were found guilty.

Law Officers' Advice

Llew Smith: To ask the Solicitor-General for what reasons it is Government policy never to make public legal advice prepared by the Attorney-General for Ministers.

Harriet Harman: There is a long-standing convention, adhered to by successive governments, and reflected in paragraph 24 of the Ministerial Code, that neither the fact that the Law Officers have advised on a particular matter, nor the substance of any advice they may have given is publicly disclosed. As I explained to the hon. Member in my reply to him of 26 March 2003, Official Report, column 236W, the purpose of the convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence. This is in the public interest so that governments take full and frank legal advice and act in accordance with the rule of law.

Discontinued Prosecutions

John Battle: To ask the Solicitor-General how many cases brought before the Crown Prosecution Service by the police were dropped and not proceeded with, and for what reasons, in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The relevant figures are summarised in the following two tables.
	Table 1 shows the number of cases not proceeded with in the magistrates' courts. These comprise both cases discontinued by the Crown Prosecution Service and those written off because the defendant could not be traced by the police, had died or been found unfit to plead. Table 1 also shows the number of cases in which a prosecution proceeded and was completed in the magistrates' courts. These comprise cases in which the defendant: was convicted after trial; convicted after a guilty plea; or convicted in their absence. It also consists of cases dismissed by the magistrates after a full trial or a submission of no case to answer; or cases discharged during the course of a committal hearing.
	The table also shows the number and proportion of cases resulting in a conviction and the number and proportion resulting in an unsuccessful outcome. Unsuccessful outcomes comprise cases which did not proceed, and those cases which did proceed but which resulted in a dismissal or discharge.
	Table 2 shows the number of cases not proceeded with in the crown court. These comprise cases dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service before a jury was sworn and written off because the defendant could not be traced by the police, had died, or been found unfit to plead. Table 2 also shows the number of cases in which a prosecution proceeded. These comprise cases in which the defendant was convicted after trial or guilty plea; and cases which resulted in an acquittal by the jury, or on the judge's direction.
	Table 2 also shows the number and proportion of cases resulting in a conviction at the crown court and those cases which resulted in an unsuccessful outcome, including cases that did not proceed and those which resulted in an acquittal.
	The Crown Prosecution Service holds no historical records showing why cases did not proceed: the information is held on individual case files, and could be retrieved only by examining every relevant file in each Crown Prosecution Service office.
	The decision whether to proceed with a case is taken in accordance with the criteria set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors. The code states that a case should only start or continue if there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and, if there is sufficient evidence, where it is in the public interest to proceed. Where there is sufficient evidence, a prosecution will usually take place unless public interest considerations against prosecution clearly outweigh those in favour. The code is applied in every case. Where the criteria are not met, then the decision to discontinue is in the interests of justice.
	Together with its criminal justice partners, the Crown Prosecution Service is subject to a Public Service Agreement target of increasing the number of offences for which an offender is brought to justice. The service, therefore, seeks to reduce both cases which do not proceed and those which result in an unsuccessful outcome.
	A number of initiatives contribute towards this aim. The Crown Prosecution Service has re-structured its front line operations by establishing co-located units in which prosecutors and caseworkers work in partnership with the police to prepare and strengthen cases, focusing resources on more serious cases and providing better support to victims and witnesses. In addition, the service is implementing the recommendations of Sir Robin Auld that they should assume responsibility for determining charges from the outset of the case. The implementation of the Compass Case Management system will provide the Crown Prosecution Service with better information on the progress and outcome of proceedings, allowing managers to identify areas of excellence and areas in which performance requires remedial action. Over time this will include information about the reasons underlying case failures.
	
		Table 1: Cases dropped and cases proceeded with: magistrates' courts
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 
			  Number % Number % Number % Number % 
		
		
			 Not proceeded with 
			 Discontinued 184,208 15.0 187,575 14.8 191,341 15.0 191,579 15.7 
			 Written off 92,930 7.6 88,506 7.0 86,056 6.7 78,001 6.4 
			 Total not proceeded with 277,138 22.6 276,081 21.8 277,397 21.7 269,580 22.0 
			  
			 Proceeded with 
			 Guilty pleas 766,836 62.5 810,952 63.9 820,741 64.3 781,254 63.8 
			 Proved in the absence of the defendant 108,831 8.9 114,133 9.0 114,880 9.0 116,032 9.5 
			 Convictions after trial 53,235 4.3 49,466 3.9 45,108 3.5 39,331 3.2 
			 Discharged at committal 1,711 0.1 922 0.1 799 0.1 852 0.1 
			 Dismissed no case to answer 2,775 0.2 2,248 0.2 1,884 0.1 1,752 0.1 
			 Dismissed after trial 15,548 1.3 15,442 1.2 14,909 1.2 14,876 1.2 
			 Total proceeded with 948,936 77.4 993,163 78.2 998,321 78.3 954,097 78.0 
			  
			 Total convictions 928,902 75.8 974,551 76.8 980,729 76.9 936,677 76.5 
			 Total unsuccessful outcomes 297,172 24.2 294,693 23.2 294,989 23.1 287,060 23.5 
		
	
	
		
			   2001  2002  2003 
			  Number % Number % Number % 
		
		
			 Not proceeded with   
			 Discontinued 198,908 16.2 197,940 15.7 181,161 14.4 
			 Written off 73,790 6.0 78,758 6.3 73,421 5.8 
			 Total not proceeded with 272,698 22.1 276,698 22.0 254,582 20.2 
			
			 Proceeded with   
			 Guilty pleas 786,380 63.9 803,859 63.9 796,973 63.1 
			 Proved in the absence of the defendant 117,882 9.6 119,659 9.5 143,838 11.4 
			 Convictions after trial 37,167 3.0 39,516 3.1 46,813 3.7 
			 Discharged at committal 766 0.1 931 0.1 1,689 0.1 
			 Dismissed no case to answer 1,632 0.1 1,722 0.1 2,565 0.2 
			 Dismissed after trial 14,645 1.2 15,458 1.2 15,844 1.3 
			 Total proceeded with 958,472 77.9 981,145 78.0 1,007,722 79.8 
			
			 Total convictions 947,429 76.5 963,034 76.6 987,624 78.2 
			 Total unsuccessful outcomes 289,747 23.5 294,809 23.4 274,680 21.8 
		
	
	
		Table 2: Cases dropped and cases proceeded with: crown court
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 
			  Number % Number % Number % Number % 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Not proceeded with 
			 Judge ordered acquittals 8,886 8.3 10,247 10.9 10,828 12.2 11,529 13.4 
			 Written off 1,254 1.2 1,404 1.5 1,431 1.6 1,328 1.5 
			 Total not proceeded with 10,140 9.5 11,651 12.4 12,259 13.9 12,857 15.0 
			  
			 Proceeded with 
			 Guilty pleas 74,398 69.8 61,863 65.8 55,705 63.0 53,449 62.3 
			 Convictions after trial 13,266 12.5 11,754 12.5 11,647 13.2 10,959 12.8 
			 Judge directed acquittals 1,740 1.6 1,851 2.0 1,849 2.1 1,789 2.1 
			 Acquittals after trial 6,977 6.5 6,910 7.3 6,958 7.9 6,729 7.8 
			 Total proceeded with 96,381 90.5 82,378 87.6 76,159 86.1 72,926 85.0 
			  
			 Total convictions 87,664 82.3 73,677 78.3 67,352 76.2 64,408 75.1 
			 Total unsuccessful outcomes 18,857 17.7 20,472 21.7 21,066 23.8 21,375 24.9 
		
	
	
		
			   2001  2002  2003 
			  Number % Number % Number % 
		
		
			 Not proceeded with   
			 Judge ordered acquittals 12,744 15.2 14,340 15.3 14,869 15.1 
			 Written off 1,445 1.7 1,739 1.9 1,921 1.9 
			 Total not proceeded with 14,189 16.9 16,078 17.2 16,790 17.0 
			
			 Proceeded with   
			 Guilty pleas 50,597 60.4 57,024 60.9 60,132 61.0 
			 Convictions after trial 10,803 12.9 12,677 13.5 13,168 13.4 
			 Judge directed acquittals 1,495 1.8 1,442 1.5 1,574 1.6 
			 Acquittals after trial 6,630 7.9 6,402 6.8 6,880 7.0 
			 Total proceeded with 69,525 83.1 77,544 82.8 81,754 83.0 
			
			 Total convictions 61,400 73.3 69,701 74.4% 73,300 74.4 
			 Total unsuccessful outcomes 22,314 26.7 23,922 25.6 25,244 25.6

Katharine Gun

Llew Smith: To ask the Solicitor-General for what reasons the prosecution against Katharine Gun, in respect of alleged actions she took while employed at GCHQ, was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Harriet Harman: I would refer my hon. Friend to my statement of 26 February 2004, Official Report, columns 426–29.

WALES

Business Output

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the level of Welsh business output was for each month of 2003.

Don Touhig: Information on business output is published quarterly.
	The latest available figures for 2003 are as follows:
	
		
			  Figures 
		
		
			 QTR 1 92.4 
			 QTR 2 92.3 
			 QTR 3 90.1 
		
	
	Source:
	From the Index of Production and Construction. Jointly produced by Statistical Directorate National Assembly for Wales and the ONS.

Ministerial Speeches

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many speeches he made between 9 June 2003 and 1 February 2004; and where a copy of each speech can be obtained.

Peter Hain: I have made some 20 speeches during the period in question. These include keynote speeches to the Institute of Welsh Affairs 1 , Cardiff Business Club, Wales Industry Forum, Alstom UK Annual Dinner, the Italian Ambassadors luncheon and the State of the Nations 1 lecture for the Constitution Unit.
	In addition I have spoken at a number of events such as IPPR breakfast, International Eisteddfod, Salvation Army presentation, British Telecom Broadband presentation and most recently at reception for Japanese business people.
	1 These speeches are on the Wales Office website—www. walesoffice.gov.uk/report.html

TRANSPORT

Computerised MOT Tests

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answers of 8 March 2004, Official Report, columns 1237–38W, on computerised MOT tests, what benefits were expected prior to tendering, of computerisation of the MOT test; and if he will make a statement on the disadvantages consequent on late delivery of the ordered system.

David Jamieson: The main benefits of computerising MOT testing are expected to be:
	Improved road safety and environmental protection by raising testing standards and enabling increased motorists' compliance with annual testing requirements.
	Increased consumer protection by improving the consistency of testing, reducing unnecessary MOT test failures and related repairs.
	Reduced crime and fraud by preventing fraudulent or unauthorised issue of test certificates and eliminating forgeries.
	Modernised and more efficient administration of the scheme through networking communications enabling real time access to testing information and results, reducing the compliance burden on MOT stations, and enabling delivery of an electronic vehicle relicensing service to motorists.
	Late delivery of the computerised service will mean that the current manual procedures will need to be retained for longer than envisaged.

Computerised MOT Tests

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answers of 8 March 2004, Official Report, columns 1237–38W, on computerised MOT tests, under what circumstances the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency could terminate the contract.

David Jamieson: VOSA could seek to terminate its contract with Siemens Business Services (SBS):
	1. for material default by SBS which is either not capable of remedy or is not remedied within a specified period depending on the breach;
	2. if SBS is or is near being insolvent;
	3. if SBS undergoes a change of control which is not in VOSA's or DfT's interest;
	4. if there are prolonged serious problems as a result of events outside VOSA's or SBS' control and alternative arrangements cannot be agreed.
	VOSA may also terminate without cause. In this case it would have to pay compensation to SBS covering its legitimate costs and for some loss of profit.

Rural Bus Services (Chorley)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many rural bus services in Chorley are funded by rural bus grants.

Tony McNulty: Rural Bus Subsidy Grant (RBSG) is paid to local transport authorities. In the case of Chorley this is Lancashire county council. It is for the authority to decide which services should be supported with the grant. We understand from the county council that four rural bus services in Chorley are currently supported by RBSG.

Goods Vehicles

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many closed container vehicles and trailers, including curtain sided ones, are (a) registered in and (b) operate from the UK; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: At the end of 2002, there were in total 433,000 goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes gross weight licensed in Great Britain. 101,000 vehicles were specified on standard international licences authorising operators to carry goods on international journeys.

Goods Vehicles

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate how many closed container vehicles and trailers, including curtain sided ones, travelled to mainland Europe through (a) the Channel tunnel and (b) ferry ports in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: Information is not available in the form requested. The available information is as follows:
	
		Roads goods vehicles travelling to mainland Europe: powered goods vehicles and trailers
		
			  Thousand(4) 
		
		
			 2001 2,398 
			 2002 2,528 
			 2003 2,593 
		
	
	(4) Number of one-way vehicle trips.
	Source:
	Roll-on Roll-off goods vehicle survey: DfT.

Rail Capacity (West Yorkshire)

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what plans he has to increase rail capacity (a) in West Yorkshire, (b) on the Wharfedale Line, (c) on the Harrogate Line and (d) on the Airedale Line;
	(2)  what representations he has received on increasing rail capacity in West Yorkshire; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) has published a Capacity Utilisation Policy and has also developed a new planning framework. A key aspect of this includes Regional Planning Assessments (RPA) which will form a basis for planning rail services over the medium to long term at a more detailed level. The SRA will produce the RPA for Yorkshire and Humberside in 2005, at which time specific capacity issues for the lines in question will be taken into account. I am not aware of any representations specifically on increasing rail capacity in West Yorkshire.

Road Safety

Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pedestrians were (a) killed and (b) injured in road traffic accidents in each year since 1997.

David Jamieson: The following table shows, for Great Britain, how many pedestrians were (a) killed and (b) injured in road traffic accidents reported to the police, in each year from 1997 to 2002. This information has been published in Road Casualties Great Britain 2002Annual Report, a copy of which is in the Library.
	
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Killed 973 906 870 857 826 775 
			 Injured 44,628 43,980 42,018 41,176 39,751 38,009 
			 Total 45,601 44,886 42,888 42,033 40,577 38,784

Road Safety

Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of all assessments carried out by his Department of road accidents involving each car type.

David Jamieson: The latest assessment of the risk of driver injury when different models of car are involved in an accident, was published in the Statistical Bulletin Cars: Make and Model: The Risk of Driver Injury in Great Britain: 19962000, published on 15 May 2003. Copies have been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Road Safety

Mr. Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the (a) research projects and (b) campaign groups connected with road safety to which his Department gave money, listing the amounts given to each in 200304.

David Jamieson: We provide financial assistance to organisations other than local authorities, who successfully bid under Challenge Fund arrangements, for grant towards the costs of initiatives which promote road safety. Details of the organisations assisted and the nature of their initiatives are provided in the table. We also commission research from a number of research organisations, universities and consultants. Details of the road safety research programme are available at: www.rmd.dft.gov.uk
	
		
			 Applicant Proposals Grant () 
		
		
			 Ape Theatre Company Pills Thrills and automobiles. The project is for funding of a drug/drive play aimed at 16 to 18-year-olds to reduce drug related accidents, through interaction and provocation of thought/consequences. 20,000.00 
			 Brake Schools action packs. The project is for the funding of Road Safety Week action packs for school teachers, nursery leaders and youth club leaders. Two action packs will be produced: one for teachers of nursery and primary age children (xl0,000); the other for teachers of secondary school children (x3,000). 10,000 
			 Brake Getting the road safety message acrossa communications strategy for road safety professionals. This project would provide a communications strategy for Road Safety Professionals and has the support of the Local Authority Road Safety Officers Association (LARSOA). 4,190.00 
			 CAPT Child Safety Week aims to raise awareness levels within local communities through those, at local level, best able to influence children and their parents/carers about avoiding accidents. The theme for Child Safety Week 2003 was One moment can change everything. The message to participants was Accidents happen in seconds but the effects can last a lifetime. Take action now for child safety. Road accidents, in particular pedestrian and cycling accidents, were one of the four accident topics highlighted. 10,000.00 
			 Oxford Brookes University Pedestrian visibility: improving children's understanding and behaviour. The project aims to develop a computer based tool to improve children's awareness of pedestrian visibility. This is a one off project which would take place at a purpose built Lifeskills centre in Bristol. A final report would be produced and the lessons learned will be incorporated into Lifeskills permanent training, which reaches 8,500 children per year (over 50 per cent. of year six children in Bristol and adjacent educational authorities). 10,000.00 
			 RAC Grass Routes: investigating safer journeys. The project aims to raise awareness of road safety and road hazards among one of the most at risk groups of road users, 11 to14-year-olds, by the production of a schools resource pack, which will be made available to all secondary schools in the UK. The pack will focus on safer journeys to school. The proposal would expand the project which took place last year (200203) and was a continuation of an earlier Grass Routes project which focused on the environmental impact of the school run. 18,447.63 
			 RoSPA Child restraints video. The purpose of the project is to produce a video and DVD of approximately 15 minutes duration to provide advice on choosing and using child car restraints and to give practical demonstrations of how to properly fit them. It will be designed to be used as a training aid by Road Safety Officers and health professionals, but also to be used by parents. 20,000.00 
			 RoSPA Redevelopment of the ORSA website. This project is to redevelop and manage (for the first year) the temporary website established by the Occupational Road Safety Alliance. The funding is to produce a professional and useful/useable resource for those involved in, or wanting information about, at-work road safety. 16,807.50 
			 RoSPA Resource for parents (and other non-professional trainers) who supervise L drivers. The purpose of this project is to produce advice for parents, including practical tips, on helping their children learn to drive. 12,007.00 
			 RoSPA Presenting Road Safety: A guide for the media. The purpose of this project is to revise and re-publish RoSPA's Guide for the media, Presenting Road safety. Free copies of the Guide would be distributed to all Local Authorities, other road safety related organisations, the main media organisations and Regulatory bodies. 10,868.00 
			 RoSPA Education resource for Key stage 1 children with English as second language. This project would produce a spiral bound, stand up book for use with Key Stage 1 children whose first language is not English. The book would feature clear and simple road safety messages about crossing the road, cycling (away from traffic) and travelling in a car. It would also include an introduction to road signs within these topics. The messages to be in Bengali, Urdu and Punjabi, as they are the most common ethnic minority languages, as well as English. 19,835.00 
			 RoSPA Road safety resource file: Key stage 4 citizenship. The purpose of this project is to produce a resource for use by teachers in schools to allow students to develop the skills, knowledge and understanding outlined in the Key stage 4 (KS4) Citizenship programme of study by using road safety issues. The resource will include facts and figures, details of the law and legislative instruments, newspaper articles and links to websites. There will be questions and discussion points, which will draw out key issues. In addition to a printed version, the resource will be produced in an electronic format suitable for downloading from the internet. 16,598.00 
			 RoSPA Driving for work: safer journey planner. This application is to fund the production and distribution of a leaflet Driving for Work: Safer Journey Planner (a work-related version of the Safer Journey Planner which RoSPA produced in 2001). The target audience would be employers, managers and staff who drive (or ride) for work. The leaflet would set this issue in the context of the employer's (and individual driver's) duty to risk assess their work related road journeys. 7,712.00 
			 RoSPSA Reprint of the Guidelines for the Management and Operation of Practical Child Cyclist Schemes. 2,676.00 
			 The Portman Group I'll be Des campaign packs. The project will produce 1,000 I'll be Des campaign packs for Road Safety Officers. 10,318.00 
			 University of Newcastle upon Tyne Kerbcraft road safety training video. The proposed video complements the ongoing management and evaluation of the National Network of Child Pedestrian Training Schemes. The Department for Transport is currently funding100 road safety training schemes between 20022006. Each scheme is based around the Kerbcraft Model. The video will provide reference material for Kerbcraft co-ordinators, reinforcing the key objectives and methods for training each Kerbcraft skill at the roadside. 19,800.00 
			 West Yorkshire Police Community Trust R.O.A.D.S. (Reduce our accidents decrease speed). This project will fund 50 Young Citizen Panels to influence road users in West Yorkshire to decrease their speed. Each panel will identify a section of road where they consider that drivers speed is dangerous and invite their local Road Safety Officer and a police officer to assess the location. The panel will accompany the Police Officer when a driver is stopped to explain who they represent, why they are conducting the exercise and that they will be reporting on the project. Each driver will be given a copy of The Highway Code and appropriate literature. In January-April 2004 each panel will develop a further road safety project around child pedestrian safety. 7,000.00 
			  Successful projects 216,259.13

School Buses

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will carry out an assessment of the safety implications of allowing three children to travel on seats designed for two on school buses.

David Jamieson: I have no plans to carry out an assessment of the safety implications of the three for two allowance as I have no evidence or data to support an argument that it represents a risk to child safety. Three for two is a concession, which local authorities may apply if they wish, and not a requirement.
	I also refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 14 January 2004, Official Report, column 746W to my hon. Friend the Member for Monmouth (Mr. Edwards), concerning the carriage of children in buses and the three for two allowance.

Severn Bridge

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect on economic activity of the Forest of Dean of the closures of the first Severn crossing bridge to vehicles in the past three months.

David Jamieson: Closures of the first Severn crossing bridge during high winds are done to ensure the safety of the road user. No specific assessment has been made of the economic effect of closing the first Severn bridge. The second Severn crossing provides an alternative route and this reduces the impact on the local economy of any closures of the first bridge.

Severn Bridge

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether, when the Highways Agency makes the decision to close the first Severn crossing bridge, it differentiates between high-sided vehicles and saloon cars.

David Jamieson: When the first Severn bridge is closed for reasons of safety, the Highways Agency makes no differentiation between high-sided vehicles and saloon cars. There is no infrastructure at present to filter vehicles. The agency has commissioned a report on the viability of 'filtering out' high-sided vehicles, using enforcement cameras in conjunction with traffic signing. This report is expected to be completed this spring.

Severn Bridge

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how the Highways Agency informs the public of the instances of closure of the first Severn crossing bridge; and if he will review the adequacy of this process.

David Jamieson: The Highways Agency informs the public of bridge closures using advance traffic signing on the approaches to the M48 at Magor in the west and Almondsbury in the east. The agency's information line is also notified, together with other media sources. The effectiveness of this process is monitored regularly by the agency and other interested organisations.

Severn Bridge

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times, and for how long on each occasion, the first Severn crossing bridge has been closed to vehicles since the responsibility for doing so was transferred from the police to the Highways Agency.

David Jamieson: There have been eight closures of the bridge due to high winds since the Highways Agency assumed responsibility from the police on 16 October 2003. Details are set out as follows.
	
		
			 Dates Times 
		
		
			 23 November 2003 05.10 (Sunday)15.55 (Monday) 
			 1415 November 2003 11.15 (Friday)02.30 (Saturday) 
			 26 December 2003 16.2021.00 
			 8 January 2004 08.4517.10 
			 1516 January 2004 18.40(Thursday)10.00 (Friday) 
			 31 January1 February 2004 06.00 (Saturday)02.00 (Sunday) 
			 3 February 2004 09.5519.40 
			 78 February 2004 21.25 (Saturday)07.00 (Sunday)

Severn Bridge

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria are used by the Highways Agency in determining when and for how long the first Severn crossing bridge should be closed to vehicles.

David Jamieson: A protocol has been developed over several years to determine when and for how long the first Severn bridge should be closed to traffic. It is continually reviewed to explore ways of minimising the closures while ensuring the safety of road users.
	The following criteria are currently applied:
	
		
			 Gust wind speed(knots) Threshold requirement (i.e. criteria set within themonitoring equipment) Response (i.e. action to be taken) 
		
		
			 30 30 knots exceeded six times within any 10 minute period All matrix signs to be set to indicate 40 mph 
			 35 35 knots exceeded three times in any 10 minute period.Leeward lane identified by wind direction Alternate matrix signs to be amended to indicate leeward lane closed in each direction 
			 40 40 knots exceeded six times in any 10 minute period Close crossing to all traffic 
			 60 Any gust exceeds 60 knots Close crossing to all traffic 
			 70 Any gust exceeds 70 knots Crossing not to be re-opened until confirmed by Severn River Crossings plc to ensure no damage sustained 
			 Decreasing No gust has exceeded 30 knots within 30 minute period Seek authority to remove the imposed restrictions

Severn Bridge

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons responsibility for decisions on when to close the first Severn crossing bridge was transferred from the police to the Highways Agency.

David Jamieson: The police were concerned that individual police officers were required to be accountable for making the decision to close the first Severn bridge. They were unwilling to continue to be the primary decision maker in the closure process. The agency has taken responsibility for this role and ownership of the operating protocol.

Speed Cameras

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on the siting of (a) fixed and (b) mobile speed cameras; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The Handbook of rules and guidance for the operation of the national road safety camera programme for England and Wales deals with the siting of fixed and mobile speed cameras in those areas participating in the safety camera cost recovery scheme. Copies were placed in the Libraries of the House on 5 December 2003. Guidance for those areas outside the scheme is contained in Circular Roads 1/92.

Speed Cameras

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what revenues were raised from speed cameras in the Wycombe district council area in 200203.

David Jamieson: Wycombe district council is part of the Thames Valley Safety Camera Partnership. Information on fine receipts for 200203 will be contained in the third year report of the safety camera programme, to be published shortly.

Speed Cameras

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how revenues raised from speed cameras in Wycombe district council area are spent.

David Jamieson: Wycombe district council is part of the Thames Valley Safety Camera Partnership. Receipts from fines are made available to the partnerships for the approved costs of purchasing and operating its cameras. Any additional fine receipts are passed to the Consolidated Fund.

Waterways Improvements

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many programmes have been undertaken to improve (a) harbours, (b) docks and (c) inland waterways since 1997.

David Jamieson: This information is not available centrally. Harbour and navigation authorities are responsible for programmes of improvement in their areas and, although some harbour and dock projects require Government consent, there is no requirement for reporting of programmes.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Civil Society Organisations

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funds were contributed by his Department to UK-based civil society organisations in 2002, broken down by nation of the United Kingdom.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID support to Civil Society Organisations is predominantly targeted at UK organisations and with a UK wide base. We do not differentiate between the nations of the UK and do not collate figures on this basis.

Conferences

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many conferences were hosted by his Department (a) at home and (b) abroad, in the year to 29 February; and what the cost was of attending these conferences, broken down by (i) travel costs, (ii) food and drink costs, (iii) accommodation costs and (iv) miscellaneous costs.

Hilary Benn: This information is not held centrally and to collate it would incur disproportionate cost.

Departmental Communications

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff are employed in the Department to work in the communications field, broken down by (a) Government Information and Communication Service staff and (b) other staff, broken down by (i) press officers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) others.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development employs the following numbers of staff in the communications field:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 (a) Government Information and Communication Service 4 
			   
			 (b) Others  
			 (i) Press officers 6 
			 (ii) Special advisers 2 
			 (iii) Others 17

Departmental Communications

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total expenditure on communications for the Department has been in 200304, broken down by expenditure on (a) Government Information and Communication Service staff and (b) other staff, broken down by (i) press officers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) others.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The total expenditure on communications for the Department for International Development in 200304 has been as follows:
	
		
			   
		
		
			 (a) Government Information and Communication Service staff 130,724 
			   
			 (b) Other staff  
			 (i) Press officers 270,504 
			 (ii) Special advisers 132,184 
			 (iii) Others 493,232

EU Development Finance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the objectives were of the (a) environment and tropical forests and (b) training and public awareness projects financed by the General Commission Budget in 2002; what his Department's involvement in the projects was; what the outcome was; and what assessment he has made of their value for money.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The objectives of the Environment and tropical forests projects were to support the conservation and sustainable management of forests. DFID was consulted during the drafting of strategic guidelines and priorities for funding for the Environment and Forestry Budget Line. The Department also participated in committee meetings that reviewed proposals.
	The training and public awareness projects aim to provide support for public awareness projects that increase European awareness of international development. There is an EC NGO co-financing management committee, which in 2002 consisted of delegates drawn from all 15 EU member states. The UK was represented on the committee by DFID staff.
	There are a multitude of individual projects in both sectors, each with different objectives and outcomes and many of which run over the course of several years and therefore have not been completed yet. I refer the hon. Member to the information available in the 2003 Annual Report from the European Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the EC Development Policy and the Implementation of External Assistance 2002 and the European Commission's website http://europa.eu.int for further details.
	When considering Commission funding proposals, the Department took a wide range of factors into consideration, including likely cost-effectiveness and value for money. Any concerns about value for money were raised with the Commission. Many of the projects approved in 2002 are in the early stages of implementation. An assessment of the value for money will only be possible once the projects have been completed. The EC, through its results-orientated management system and strengthened evaluation systems, is best placed to carry out such an assessment.

EU Development Finance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the value for money provided by EU Official Development Assistance on (a) production sectors, (b) social infrastructure and services, (c) economic infrastructure and services and (d) multisector/cross-cutting projects in 2002 that was financed by the General Commission Budget and the European Development Fund; and on what criteria his assessment is based.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: There are a multitude of individual projects in the areas cited by the hon. Member, each with different objectives and outcomes and many of which run over the course of several years and therefore have not been completed yet. I refer the hon. Gentleman to the information available in the 2003 Annual Report from the European Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the EC Development Policy and the Implementation of External Assistance 2002 and the European Commission's website http://europa.eu.int for further details.
	When considering Commission funding proposals, DFID took a wide range of factors into consideration, including likely cost effectiveness and value for money. Any concerns about value for money were raised with the Commission. Many of the projects approved in 2002 are in the early stages of implementation. An assessment of the value for money will only be possible once the projects have been completed. The EC, through its results-orientated management system and strengthened evaluation systems, is best placed to carry out such an assessment.

EU Development Finance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's involvement was in the (a) humanitarian aid, (b) food aid and (c) pre-accession, Malta, Cyprus, Turkey projects financed under the General Commission Budget in 2002; and what the outcome was in each case.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID was consulted during the drafting of strategic guidelines and priorities for funding in all three areas. The UK also participated in committee meetings that reviewed specific proposals. For example, DFID was represented at the Humanitarian Aid Committee which met monthly in 2002 to consider European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO)'s draft funding decisions. Relevant DFID staff were consulted about individual proposals. Member states agreed ECHO'S overall 2002 strategy in late 2001.
	There are a multitude of individual projects in the areas cited by the hon. Member, each with different objectives and outcomes and many of which run over the course of several years and therefore have not been completed yet. I refer the hon. Gentleman to the information available in the 2003 Annual Report from the European Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the EC Development Policy and the Implementation of External Assistance 2002 and the European Commission's website http://europa.eu.int for further details.

EU Development Finance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the objectives were of the (a) Latin America, (b) Asia and (c) pre-accession PHARE projects financed under the General Commission Budget in 2002; what his Department's involvement in each project was; what the outcome was; and what assessment he has made of value for money in each case.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The overall objective of the many individual projects financed in Latin America and Asia is to promote human development. The objective of the PHARE programme is to help candidate countries' preparations to accede to the European Union. This consists of technical assistance with the implementation of the aquis communautaire, and the building of institutional capacity.
	DFID was consulted during the drafting of strategic guidelines and priorities for funding in all three areas. DFID and/or other Government Departments also participated in committee meetings that reviewed specific proposals.
	There are a multitude of individual projects in Asia, Latin America and the PHARE countries, each with different objectives and outcomes and many of which run over the course of several years and therefore have not been completed yet. I refer the hon. Member to the information available in the 2003 Annual Report from the European Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the EC Development Policy and the Implementation of External Assistance 2002 and the European Commission's website http://europa.eu.int for further details.
	When considering Commission funding proposals, the Department took a wide range of factors into consideration, including likely cost-effectiveness and value for money. Any concerns about value for money were raised with the Commission. Many of the projects approved in 2002 are in the early stages of implementation. An assessment of the value for money will only be possible once the projects have been completed. The EC, through its results-orientated management system and strengthened evaluation systems, is best placed to carry out such an assessment.

EU Development Finance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the objectives were of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (a) near and Middle East, (b) Mediterranean and (c) South Africa projects financed under the General Commission Budget in 2002; what his Department's involvement in each project was; what the outcome was; and what assessment he has made of value for money in each case.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was established to foster the transition towards open market-oriented economies, and to promote private and entrepreneurial initiative, in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. EBRD does not cover any of the regions identified in the hon. Gentleman's question.

EU Development Finance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the objectives were of the (a) Western Balkans, (b) NIS and Mongolia/CEECS and (c) NIS and Mongolia/TACIS projects financed under the General Commission Budget in 2002; what his Department's involvement in them was; what the outcome was; and what assessment he has made of their value for money.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The objective of the Commission's programme of assistance to the Western Balkans (the CARDS programme) is to support the Stabilisation and Association Process in the region through reconstruction, work on democracy, human rights and the rule of law, economic and social development and promoting closer relations between recipient countries and between those countries and the EU. The objectives of the TACIS programme are to promote the transition to a market economy and to reinforce democracy and the rule of law in the CIS countries.
	Representatives of DFID sit on the Management Committees that oversee the Commission's implementation of these programmes. In addition proposals for spending in Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania and FYROM are approved by the Governing Board of the European Agency for Reconstruction, on which DFID is also represented.
	In both CARDS and TACIS, programmes funded under the 2002 Budget will typically last for at least three years. There are a multitude of individual projects in the areas cited by the hon. Member, each with different objectives and outcomes. I refer the hon. Member to the information available in the 2003 Annual Report from the European Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the EC Development Policy and the Implementation of External Assistance 2002 and the European Commission's website http://europa.eu.int for further details.
	When considering Commission funding proposals, DFID took a wide range of factors into consideration, including likely cost-effectiveness and value for money. Any concerns about value for money were raised with the Commission. Many of the projects approved in 2002 are in the early stages of implementation. An assessment of the value for money will only be possible once the projects have been completed. The EC, through its results-orientated management system and strengthened evaluation systems, is best placed to carry out such an assessment.

EU Development Finance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the outcome was of the (a) anti-personnel mines and (b) pre-accession ISPA projects financed from the General Commission Budget in 2002; and what his Department's involvement in each project was.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID was represented at the working groups that considered the projects presented by the European Commission to member states. There are a multitude of individual projects in the areas cited by the hon. Member each with different objectives and outcomes and many of which run over the course of several years and therefore have not been completed yet. I refer the hon. Gentleman to the information available in the 2003 Annual Report from the European Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the EC Development Policy and the Implementation of External Assistance 2002 and the European Commission's website http://europa.eu.int for further details.

EU Development Finance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the objectives were of the (a) co-ordination and evaluation, (b) social infrastructure and services and (c) global health fund projects financed under the General Commission Budget in 2002; what his Department's involvement in the projects was; what the outcome was; and what assessment he has made of their value for money.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The overall objective of the co-ordination and evaluation projects is to improve the long-term effectiveness of EC aid. Projects under the social infrastructure and services focus on reducing drug abuse. Global Health Fund projects support the Global Health Fund's aim to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
	When considering Commission funding proposals, DFID took a wide range of factors into consideration, including likely cost-effectiveness and value for money. Any concerns about value for money were raised with the Commission. Many of the projects approved in 2002 are in the early stages of implementation. An assessment of the value for money will only be possible once the projects have been completed. The EC, through its results-orientated management system and strengthened evaluation systems, is best placed to carry out such an assessment.

EU Development Finance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development in respect of which projects financed under the General Commission Budget co-financing of non-governmental organisations took place in 2002.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: A multitude of individual projects under the co-financing of non-governmental organisations budget line were implemented in 2002. I refer the hon. Gentleman to the information available in the 2003 Annual Report from the European Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the EC Development Policy and the Implementation of External Assistance 2002 and the European Commission's website http://europa.eu.int for further details.

EU Development Finance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the value for money provided by EU Official Development Assistance on (a) Action Relating to Debt and (b) Commodity Aid and the General Programme in 2002 financed by the General Commission Budget and the European Development Fund; and on what criteria his assessment is based.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: When considering Commission funding proposals, DFID took a wide range of factors into consideration, including likely cost-effectiveness and value for money. Any concerns about value for money were raised with the Commission. Many of the projects approved in 2002 are in the early stages of implementation. An assessment of the value for money will only be possible once the projects have been completed. The EC, through its results-orientated management system and strengthened evaluation systems, is best placed to carry out such an assessment.

EU Development Finance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the value for money provided by EU Official Development Assistance devoted to emergency and distress relief in 2002; and on what criteria his assessment is based.

Hilary Benn: When considering Commission funding proposals, DFID took a wide range of factors into consideration, including likely cost-effectiveness and value for money. Any concerns about value for money were raised with the Commission. Many of the projects approved in 2002 have only recently been completed. The EC's results-orientated management system and strengthened evaluation systems will enable it to assess their value for money in due course.

EU Development Finance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the objectives were of the pre-accession SAPARD project financed under the General Commission budget in 2002 and referred to as Item B701 in the financial tables on page 257 of the Annual Report 2003 from the European Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the EC Development Policy and the implementation of external assistance in 2002; what his Department's involvement in the project was; what the outcome was; and what assessment he has made of its value for money.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The Special Accession Programme for Agricultural and Rural Development (SAPARD) aims to help candidate countries deal with the problems of the structural adjustment in their agricultural sectors and rural areas, as well as in the implementation of the acquis communautaire concerning the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and related legislation. DFID was consulted during the drafting of strategic guidelines and priorities for funding. DFID was also represented at committee meetings that reviewed proposals.
	When considering Commission funding proposals, the Department took a wide range of factors into consideration, including likely cost-effectiveness and value for money. Any concerns about value for money were raised with the Commission. Many of the projects approved in 2002 are in the early stages of implementation. An assessment of the value for money will only be possible once the projects have been completed. The European Commission (EC), through its results-orientated management system and strengthened evaluation systems, is best placed to carry out such an assessment.

Haiti

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid the Government plans to send to Haiti.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID has sent a two-person team to Haiti to assess the humanitarian situation and discuss needs with humanitarian agencies, including the United Nations agencies that will shortly be launching a consolidated Flash Appeal. Decisions on what humanitarian assistance the UK will give to Haiti will be made after this mission and appeal.
	The European Communities Humanitarian Office (ECHO) is providing Euros 1.8 million for emergency health care. The UK share (19 per cent.) of this EC assistance is approximately 240,000. Following the UN Appeal, ECHO are considering further support.
	DFID will continue to fund Non-Governmental Organisations and Civil Society Groups through the Small Grants Scheme and the Civil Society Challenge Fund. DFID will also continue to provide funds through international agencies which work in Haiti, including the European Union (DFID provides approximately 13 per cent. of the European Development Fund budget).

Iraq

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what programmes his Department has introduced to involve Iraqi women in (a) government and (b) other areas of public life in Iraq; and if he will list the (i) personnel and (ii) funding that have been committed.

Hilary Benn: Gender equality is an integral part of DFID's work in Iraq. We are working specifically to support Iraqi women in their involvement in political processes and reconstruction. A 500,000 grant to the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) strategy for empowering women in Iraq is strengthening women's groups at a governorate level and encouraging government to take proper account of the needs of women. Two DFID-funded advisers provide support and expertise to the Iraqi Governing Council, the Coalition Provisional Authority and to the newly forming women's groups. We have also recently established a 5 million fund to promote political representation and participation by all Iraqi people, which will include support to achieving the goal of 25 per cent. women's representation in the National Assembly.

Middle East

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has for the provision of technical assistance to the Palestinian civil police in the West Bank and Gaza.

Hilary Benn: DFID is considering a programme of assistance to the Palestinian Ministry of Interior to help establish a more legitimate, effective and accountable civil and public order police force. We plan to second a police adviser for a period of six months. He will provide short-term technical support, and make an assessment of how best a longer-term programme could be delivered in co-ordination with other donor partners and other security sector reform activities.

Middle East

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he has taken to ensure complete transparency in the use by the Palestinian Authority of development aid provided by his Department.

Hilary Benn: The vast majority of DFID's assistance to Palestinians has not been provided directly to the Palestinian Authority, but goes through UN agencies, NGOs, and consultancy contracts, all of which have a high degree of transparency; but greater transparency in the PA's use of its resources is a priority for all donors.
	Substantial progress has been made since 2002 in improving the Palestinian Authority's financial management, the oversight of public spending and accountability. This has largely been the result of efforts by the Palestinian Finance Minister. We have helped the World Bank carry out a thorough Country Financial Accountability Assessment, which has set out an agenda for further improvements in these areas. The continuing need for donors to support the PA budget directly will ensure that these areas remain under close scrutiny. We are ready to provide further support if needed.

Middle East

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will visit the West Bank and Gaza to assess the requirements for (a) humanitarian and (b) development assistance.

Hilary Benn: I visited the West Bank and Gaza Strip in July 2003 to see at first hand the conditions on the ground, and hold discussions with a wide range of partners including Government, civil society, and other donors, about humanitarian and development needs. We plan to publish a Country Assistance Plan for Palestinians in April, which sets out DFID's strategy for the next two years. I have no immediate plans to visit again, but will consider a further visit depending on progress with the Middle East Peace Process.

Middle East

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many people in the West Bank and Gaza are dependent upon non-governmental organisations or international relief organisations for employment.

Hilary Benn: These data are not readily available. Job creation programmes, established by both Government and NGOs, have played an important role in helping sustain the livelihoods of thousands of families during the last three years. As part of its emergency relief activities, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) provide temporary jobs for unemployed refugees. In 2004 it plans to provide over two million workdays of employment.

Middle East

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effect of development assistance provided by his Department on levels of poverty in the West Bank and Gaza.

Hilary Benn: DFID regularly monitors the impact of its projects against their objectives. Some have a specific poverty alleviation focus; others support longer-term Palestinian institutional development needs where the impact on poverty is less direct, and is more difficult to measure. But without peace the prospects for economic growth and poverty reduction are not sustainable. Only a political solution will solve these problems.

Middle East

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effect of (a) movement restrictions and (b) land confiscation on agriculture in the West Bank and Gaza.

Hilary Benn: Movement restriction and land confiscation have led to a severe decline in agricultural production in the West Bank and Gaza, and an increased and unsustainable dependence on food aid. Palestinians, supported by donors, continue to seek innovative ways to maintain agricultural production.

Middle East

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the (a) level of food aid provided by his Department for residents of the West Bank and Gaza and (b) the effectiveness of its distribution.

Hilary Benn: DFID have provided a 500,000 contribution to the World Food Programme food aid appeal in 2002, and have contributed over 25 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency's Emergency Appeals since the start of the Intifada in 2000.
	The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)'s Emergency Appeals support job creation programmes, health, education, and shelter programmes as well as food aid. Our support is not earmarked for food aid alone. Effective targeting and distribution have improved with better co-ordination between the main food providers.

Middle East

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will assess the effectiveness of the work of his Department in enhancing Palestinian access to water in the West Bank and Gaza.

Hilary Benn: DFID has worked with the Palestinian Water Authority and NGOs for several years supporting the effective delivery of water services in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Four projects that have improved access to potable water, sanitation and environmental health in some of the poorest communities have recently been brought to a successful conclusion. We currently fund two projects.
	Support for the Sustainable Management of the West Bank and Gaza Strip Aquifers project is enhancing the Palestinian Water Authority's understanding of the western aquifer, which is an essential source of water in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. We also support a Water Access and Storage project to enable villages in the south Hebron district of the West Bank that do not have access to the networked water supply to obtain more secure access to drinking water and sustainable improved sanitation. Both projects are making good progress.

Middle East

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the need for a revision of water access arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza.

Hilary Benn: Early progress on securing Palestinian water rights would benefit the Palestinian people. DFID has supported the Palestinian Negotiations Affairs Department to research their position in preparation for negotiations on water access. While it would be possible to advance discussions immediately, the link between water rights and other issues such as borders and the separation barrier has so far led to a reluctance on both sides to engage on the issue outside the framework of overall final status negotiations.

Middle East

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what information he has of rates of malnutrition in (a) the West Bank and (b) Gaza in (i) 2000, (ii) 2001, (iii) 2002 and (iv) 2003.

Hilary Benn: Information about nutritional status in the West Bank and Gaza is uncertain, and no systematic monitoring has taken place. Various organisations have carried out surveys using different methodologies. There are no readily available data to compare the incidence of malnutrition across years.
	One of the most authoritative recent studies is the Nutritional Assessment and Sentinel Surveillance System, done in 2002 by Johns Hopkins and Al-Quds Universities. Looking at children 659 months, they found in the West Bank, 4.3 per cent. with acute malnutrition (wasting), and 7.9 per cent. with chronic malnutrition (stunting). In the Gaza strip these figures were 13.3 per cent. and 17.5 per cent. respectively. They found that 7.8 per cent. of children aged 659 months in the Palestinian Territory suffer from acute malnutrition, and 11.7 per cent. from chronic malnutrition. A normally nourished reference population would have 2.28 per cent. of population with global malnutrition, and 0.13 per cent. with severe malnutrition.

Middle East

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance his Department is providing to the Palestinian Authority in developing poverty alleviation policies.

Hilary Benn: DFID supported the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to carry out a national Participatory Poverty Assessment for the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 2002. We are now exploring with the PA, the World Bank and other donors the potential for a medium-term, comprehensive poverty reduction strategy for the Palestinian Territory. Continued DFID and other donor support to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, and a proposed new Pro-poor Participatory Planning programme, will help develop the PA's ability to monitor and assess poverty both quantitatively and qualitatively, and respond appropriately. Fiscal crisis is the major constraint on the PA's ability to alleviate poverty.

Middle East

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the results achieved by the Task Force on Project Implementation in the West Bank and Gaza.

Hilary Benn: The Task Force on Project Implementation (TFPI) was established as a representative mechanism of the international community for ensuring effective implementation of donor-funded projects in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. DFID believe that lobbying Israel on humanitarian access is most effectively handled through such co-ordinated donor mechanisms. The TFPI has had some success, but not all agreements reached have been implemented in practice.

Middle East

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to achieve donor harmonisation in the West Bank and Gaza.

Hilary Benn: DFID works increasingly with other donors to help mobilise resources in support of agreed Palestinian Authority priorities. We have contributed to a number of multi-donor World Bank led initiatives, and have formed alliances with other bilateral donors and Palestinian partners to ensure that funding is better harmonised. More effective delivery of humanitarian and development assistance is one of three objectives in our draft Country Assistance Plan for Palestinians.

Middle East

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to encourage a process of development planning in the West Bank and Gaza led by the Palestinian Authority.

Hilary Benn: The Palestinian Authority's capacity to lead on strategic planning and donor co-ordination has been constrained during the intifada. With support from international partners it is now starting to play a more proactive role. DFID's proposed support to the Participatory Poverty Planning initiative would focus on the Ministry of Planning and could advance this process. When the time is right, we plan to support the Palestinian Authority in its desire to develop a priority-based, transparent national development framework which sets out the Authority's priorities.

Middle East

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the Israeli Government about freedom of movement for humanitarian goods and personnel in the West Bank and Gaza.

Hilary Benn: The Government frequently makes representations to the Israeli government about these issues, both bilaterally and with international partners.

Middle East

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what provisions have been made for aid to the Palestinian territories.

Hilary Benn: At the start of the current financial year our agreed budget for support to Palestinians was 24.5 million. This includes funding for both the Palestinian territory and for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), which provides services to Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria as well as the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Planned allocations for 200405 and 200506 are 26.5 million, an increase of 2 million over the budgeted figures for the current year. In 200304 and previous years since the intifada started in 2000, spending plans for the Palestinian territory and UNRWA have been supplemented by additional resources made available in-year in response to unpredictable events.
	We have increased our expenditure in 200304 to 40.2 million in response to emergency needs and Middle East peace process opportunities. The 200304 figure also includes 0.7 million allocated to DFID from the Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP), which is managed by the FCO on behalf of FCO, MOD and DFID. Figures for future years make no assumptions about additional resources from within DFID or the GCPP.

Middle East

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) UK and (b) EU development assistance was given to (i) the Palestinian National Authority and (ii) other institutions or organisations representing Palestinian civil society in each year from 200001 to 200203.

Hilary Benn: The UK figures are in the following table. The European Commission does not record detailed programme expenditure in the format requested. Information on the Commission's programme of support to Palestinians is on the website www.europa.eu.int/comm/external relations
	
		 million
		
			  UK bilateral programme 
			  Support through PA institutions Support through civil society organisations 
		
		
			 200001 2 6.3 
			 200102 2.4 11.6 
			 200203 6.7 7.5

Middle East

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much financial support the UK has given to the Palestine Liberation Organisation negotiation support unit since 1998; what conditions were attached to such funding; what arrangements have been put in place to monitor such funding; whether the results of such monitoring have been published; and whether any of the funding has been used for the presentation of the Palestinian case relating to Israel's Security Force at the International Court of Justice at the Hague.

Hilary Benn: The UK has committed 9.2 million for support to the Palestinian Negotiations Support Unit (NSU). This covers funding from 1998 until 2006. 5.6 million has been disbursed to date. Our support is delivered through a contract with ASI Ltd, who are accountable to us for the use of our funding. There are no specific conditions attached to the funding. We monitor the assistance NSU provides against an agreed budget and objectives. The governments of Norway, Sweden, Netherlands and Denmark provide complementary funding, and we are integrating our monitoring with theirs. Project monitoring reports are not normally published unless there is a reason to do so. UK funds have supported the NSU's advice to the Palestinian Authority in presenting their case on the Israeli separation barrier at the International Court of Justice. It is not unusual for the UK to give funding to developing countries to help them negotiate more effectively in international fora, for example the WTO, where they make take positions that run counter to those of the EU and individual member states.

Nile Conference

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the recent conference on the future of the Nile; and what bilateral discussions he has had with each of the participating countries involved in the conference.

Hilary Benn: Officials and Ministers from the Nile Basin countries meet frequently within the framework of the Nile Basin Initiative to discuss co-operation on the complex issues relating to the Nile.
	The annual Nile Council of Ministers meeting begins on 18 March 2004 in Nairobi, and will continue previous discussions on how best to use the Nile basin for poverty alleviation, resource protection, and mutually beneficial gains including promoting regional integration and reducing potential conflict.
	The UK has taken part in technical and political discussions in the region and will be participating in the Nile Basin Trust Fund committee meeting in Nairobi from 1618 March, which precedes the Council of Ministers meeting, and includes a session with them on the final day of the conference.
	The UK is providing some financial support to the Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office in Addis Ababa for capacity building, and will be providing additional funding through the Nile Basin Trust Fund, to assist with water resources management and socio-economic development across the basin.

Procurement Policy

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development in what ways environmentally sustainable procurement strategies within the Department have driven innovation in the design and supply of products.

Hilary Benn: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment on 10 March 2004, Official Report, column 1543W.

Rwanda

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the November 2003 agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to repatriate Rwandan Hutus from the east of Congo.

Hilary Benn: The agreement in November 2003 between Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was part of a follow-up process to the Pretoria Agreement signed between the two countries on 30 July 2002. That agreement provided for the Government of Rwanda to withdraw all its forces from the DRC. It did this by October 2002 and the withdrawal was verified by MONUC (the UN Mission to the DRC). It also provided for the Government of DRC to cease all support for ex-FAR/Interhamwe and to encourage the voluntary repatriation of Rwandans from DRC, particularly combatants. The Government of DRC issued a declaration stating that the FDLR (Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda) were unwelcome in its territory and arrested two senior genocidaires in 2002. The UK Government fully supports this process as an important means of ending conflict in the region and achieving greater stability.
	The UN Security Council has tasked MONUC with the voluntary repatriation of non-Congolese combatants. It has established bases in eastern DRC to effect this. MONUC estimates that, so far, 6,600 Rwandans ex-combatants and their dependants have been repatriated (not all these repatriations have been facilitated directly by MONUC).

Rwanda

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's position is on the Rwandan Government's use of retraining camps known as solidarity camps for former members of the Forces Armes Rwandaises ahead of their reintegration into Rwandan society.

Hilary Benn: Since 2002, DFID has supported the Rwanda Demobilisation and Reintegration Programme (RDRP) with a grant of 5.5 million. The RDRP's mission statement is
	to support successful social and economic reintegration of ex-combatants in their respective communities so as to realize national security, reconciliation, and development. This will be achieved through demobilizing ex-combatants and supporting their social and economic reintegration into communities of their own choice for a fresh start, thereby saving economic resources for investment in social and economic development.
	DFID judge that the RDRP has been well managed by the Government of Rwanda's Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission (RDRC).
	The DFID office in Rwanda has been engaged in working with the RDRC to ensure successful reintegration of ex-combatants. DFID has been particularly active in working to ensure that the RDRP addresses practical social and economic issues; including the perception and acceptance by communities of ex-combatants, the opportunities for skills training and employment of ex-combatants, access to counselling and medical services, and the particular needs of female and child ex-combatants in the reintegration process.
	The re-integration sessions that ex-Force Armes Rwandaise (ex-FAR) attend last up to two weeks. These sessions are voluntary and are the same as those attended by those demobilised from the Rwandan Defence Forces (RDF). The sessions are focused on explaining the benefits available to the ex-FAR and ex-RDF under the RDRP, such as the recognition of service allowance, available medical services and counselling as well as whether they are eligible for extra funds if they are assessed as being particularly vulnerable. They are also given advice on how they can best utilise the allowances they receive, for example in how to establish income generating co-operatives and how to prepare project proposals to access loans and grants.
	It should be noted that the majority of ex-FAR soldiers have already settled in communities before they attend the RDRP sessions, sometimes for a number of years. Accordingly, their reintegration needs are often not as acute as other ex-combatants and the two week sessions are felt to be sufficient to help them access and utilise their benefits. When back in their communities, ex-FAR, like other demobilised ex-combatants, are able to use the services of the RDRP's Provincial Programme Officers to follow-up on advice and information on the benefits and services available under the RDRP and through other community-wide programmes of support.

Uganda

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's policy is on helping Ugandan crop growers share the benefits of that country's economic growth.

Hilary Benn: In rural Uganda the main constraint on the farming community's ability to share the benefits of economic growth is the failure of markets to provide good information, farm inputs, and outlets for increased farm production. DFID's policy is to address this market failure by supporting public investment in the provision of the goods and services that underpin agricultural development.
	The UK supports the Uganda Government's Plan for Modernisation of Agriculture (PMA). The PMA is a framework for Government action in support of smallholder farming households. It directs public resources to ensure that markets operate effectively and provides farmers with access to both agricultural inputs and markets for agricultural produce. Government institutions charged with agricultural service provision have been restructured to ensure they respond effectively to the demands of farmers. PMA priorities include the provision of better information through agricultural research and advice from Government extension workers; the provision of financial services; and physical investment, for example on rural feeder roads, to improve access to markets. Smallholders are supported in accessing regional and international markets. DFID has been closely involved in the design and implementation of the PMA.
	Improved export opportunities will be particularly important in the development of Uganda's agricultural sector. We have funded a number of initiatives aimed at strengthening Uganda's trade policy and access to wider international markets.

Westminster Hall

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make it his policy to have senior Ministers reply to debates in Westminster Hall.

Hilary Benn: I refer the hon. Member for Castle Point to the answer given by the Leader of the House on 8 March 2004, Official Report, column 1234W.

Zimbabwe

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the level of assistance provided by the World Food Programme to urban areas of Zimbabwe in (a) 2002, (b) 2003 and (c) 2004.

Hilary Benn: The humanitarian and economic situation in Zimbabwe continues to deteriorate, fuelled by the Government of Zimbabwe's poorly implemented fast track land programme and economic policies, as well as the effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and erratic rainfall.
	World Food Programme (WFP) emergency operations in Zimbabwe since 2002 have focused principally on rural areas, where food security is most closely related to agricultural production. General food distribution is rarely the most appropriate intervention in urban environments, where commercial availability and affordability are the principal factors affecting access to food. However, DFID are working with WFP in Bulawayo and Harare to provide targeted feeding to growth-faltering children under five. Recent vulnerability assessments indicate a sharp rise in urban vulnerability levels. The humanitarian community are currently discussing the most appropriate interventions. WFP are extending their school feeding programme in urban areas.

Zimbabwe

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will provide (a) chemicals and (b) personnel to the local authority in Harare to improve its water treatment capacity.

Hilary Benn: DFID recently committed 200,000 to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the procurement of water purification chemicals for use by the Harare and Bulawayo city councils. This emergency intervention responds to the lack of foreign currency available to the local authorities in the current economic crisis, preventing them from procuring the necessary chemicals and resulting in the high risk of water-borne disease outbreaks, particularly in the overcrowded suburbs and public institutions, such as hospitals and schools. Technical assistance is being provided by other agencies, notably UNICEF.

Zimbabwe

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the effect on the value of the EU humanitarian aid to Zimbabwe of the method of its conversion into local currency.

Hilary Benn: Concerns about the exchange rate used by the European Commission were raised in a report of the European Court of Auditors. Our understanding is that those concerns were limited to part of the spending of the European Development Fund (EDF) that was converted into Zimbabwe dollars during 2002. Humanitarian aid, which is largely funded from the EU budget rather than the EDF, was therefore not affected. Humanitarian aid is in any case very largely used to procure food and other goods outside Zimbabwe and would not be converted into Zimbabwe dollars.

Zimbabwe

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he has received on the need for pharmaceutical supplies in hospitals in Zimbabwe.

Hilary Benn: Along with the humanitarian programme, Health and HIV/AIDS is a priority for DFID support in Zimbabwe. DFID recently provided 1.8 million for UNICEF to procure vaccines and other essential immunisation programme commodities for use in routine childhood immunisation. DFID has just granted 590,000 to the National Blood Transfusion Services (NBTS) in Zimbabwe for import of test kits and reagents to allow continued provision of safe blood in hospitals, with particular reference to specialised testing for HIV and hepatitis. The European Commission is also providing essential drugs to the health sector. DFID is funding very substantial HIV/AIDS prevention programmes that include provision of hormonal contraceptives in addition to condoms.

Zimbabwe

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if his Department will provide financial assistance to the George VI School and Rehabilitation Centre in Bulawayo to assist its work with disabled and orphaned children.

Hilary Benn: The George VI School and Rehabilitation Centre can apply for a grant through the UK Government's Small Grant Scheme, administered by the British embassy in Harare. Information on the scheme is available on the internet http://www. britainzw.org or from the British embassy at 8th Floor, Corner House, Samora Machel Avenue/Leopold Takawira Street, PO Box 1030, Harare.

Zimbabwe

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the work of the Legal Resources Foundation in Zimbabwe; and if his Department will contribute funds to it.

Hilary Benn: Our assessment is that the work of the Legal Resources Foundation is excellent and makes an important contribution to civil society in Zimbabwe. At present, DFID's programme in Zimbabwe is focused on humanitarian relief and support to tackling HIV/AIDS, and we therefore do not support the Legal Resources Foundation. Should this change we would be happy to consider providing funding.

Zimbabwe

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to ensure that credit is not claimed by the Zimbabwean Government for aid provided to Zimbabwe by his Department.

Hilary Benn: British aid to Zimbabwe is channelled through UN agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to provide humanitarian assistance to vulnerable sections of society. In collaboration with our development partners, we operate a policy of zero tolerance towards political interferenceincluding claiming credit for donor food distributionin humanitarian operations. Procedures in place to reduce the risk of political interference have proved generally effective to date. Any such incidents are quickly identified, reported and followed up, including suspending food distribution where appropriate. We and other donors and agencies also use the media when appropriate to publicise our activities and to explain the extent of donor support to Zimbabwe during the present crisis. Looking ahead to the parliamentary elections anticipated early next year, monitoring of any political interference will be given even higher attention in coming months.

NORTHERN IRELAND

School Meals

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he has taken to promote healthy eating in schools in Northern Ireland.

Jane Kennedy: When providing school meals, school authorities are currently required to comply with the nutritional standards produced by the Caroline Walker Trust. These aim to contribute to a better-balanced diet which contains more bread, cereals, other starchy foods, fruit and vegetables and which is rich in minerals and vitamins, and which has less fat, sugar and salty foods. Also, the Department of Education is about to initiate a pilot study for one calendar year from next March to determine how best to introduce new compulsory nutritional standards for school meals and ensure the best chance of success.
	Health education is a compulsory element of the curriculum for all pupils. They are taught to make responsible decisions about their diet, and to know and understand the contribution of food to growth, energy and health.
	Funding has also been obtained to develop Health Promoting Schools Schemes with particular attention to schools in areas of social need.

PRIME MINISTER

Law Officers' Advice Advice

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the (a) Ministers, (b) hon. Members other than Ministers and (c) other authorised persons who were provided with a full version of the Attorney-General's advice to Government on the legality of the military action against Iraq in March 2003.

Tony Blair: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 9 March 2004, Official Report, column 1431W.

Departmental Staff

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Prime Minister what the (a) job titles and (b) salaries are of (i) Mr. Geoff Mulgan and (ii) Mr. Matthew Taylor; and whether they attended the launch of the book Growth Fetish by Mr. Clive Hamilton in an official capacity.

Tony Blair: Geoff Mulgan is the Head of Policy at No. 10. Matthew Taylor is a senior special adviser.
	In accordance with exemption 12 of Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, details of individual salaries are not disclosed in order to protect the privacy of the individuals concerned.
	Geoff Mulgan attended the book launch in a personal capacity. Matthew Taylor did not attend the event.

Agricultural Subsidies

Bob Spink: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy during the United Kingdom's presidency of the EU, to remove agricultural protectionism from Europe as a means of promoting international development; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: The Government fully supports the aims of the World Trade Organisation's Doha Declaration aimed at substantial reductions in trade distorting agricultural subsidies and protection, and placing particular emphasis on the need to help developing countries.
	Last June the EU agreed a major reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. One of the key aims of our Presidency will be to work towards agreement in the WTO which would significantly reduce barriers to agricultural trade and bring economic benefits to developing and developed countries alike.

Global Security

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister when he was first informed of the covert nuclear proliferation activities of Abdul Qadir Khan, to which he made reference in his speech on global security issues on 5 March.

Tony Blair: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell), on 1 March 2004, Official Report, column 757W.

Global Security

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister whether he has discussed with the other four permanent members of the United Nations Security Council the proposals for reform of the role of the United Nations set out in his speech on global security threats in Sedgefield on 5 March.

Tony Blair: My discussions with the leaders of other permanent Members of the Security Council regularly deal with the need for effective collective action to address all threats to international peace and security. The Government are a long-standing supporter of reform in this area, for example through the principles I set out in 1999 to clarify the circumstances in which the international community can intervene to avert an overwhelming humanitarian catastrophe. I welcome the UN Secretary-General's decision to set up a High Level Panel to review how the UN can respond more effectively to threats to international peace and security. We will continue to promote this debate in discussions with our partners within and outside the Security Council.

Middle East

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister what matters in respect of (a) Israel's weapons of mass destruction and (b) the deployment of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East were discussed with the Palestinian Prime Minister on 8 March.

Tony Blair: None. The priority of the meeting was to discuss with the Palestinian Prime Minister the Middle East Peace Process and efforts to move it forward.

Welsh Assembly

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Prime Minister what recent assessment he has made of the implications of giving additional powers to the Welsh Assembly.

Tony Blair: Since devolution on 1 July 1999, the Government have agreed to transfer additional functions to the National Assembly for Wales, including this past year responsibility for the fire service, student support and the Children and Family Courts Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS). They are also considering a request from the Assembly Government for the transfer of responsibility for Animal Health.
	The Richard Commission established by the National Assembly for Wales to consider its powers and electoral arrangements is due to report to the Welsh Assembly Government soon. The Government will consider any representations which the Assembly Government may make in response to the Richard Commission's report.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Conferences

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many conferences were hosted by the Department in the UK and abroad in the year to 29 February; and what the cost was of these conferences, broken down by (a) travel costs, (b) food and drink, (c) accommodation and (d) miscellaneous costs.

Jack Straw: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Services (Conferences and Events) has organised 14 conferences for the FCO in the period in question, one of which was held overseas. Total costs were: travel: 126,981.94; catering: 71,818.69; accommodation: 207,442.46; miscellaneous: 320,742.21.
	The FCO's Executive Agency, Wilton Park, held 43 conferences in the UK on a wide range of international themes from March 2003 to February 2004. Costs are offset by conference sponsorship, both from FCO departments and from outside organisations. Total costs were: travel for speakers and participants 324,112; catering 125,000; accommodation 265,000; miscellaneous (running costs of staff and premises) 2,238,000.
	Additionally, five Wilton Park conferences were held abroad in that period. Local conference partners meet the in-country costs for food, accommodation and miscellaneous costs.
	FCO Directorates may opt to manage events from their own resources rather than ask FCO Services (Conferences and Events) to do so, but details of these events are not held centrally and can be collated only at disproportionate cost.

Israel

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the scale of the benefits to Israel of its preferential terms of trade with the European Union.

Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
	None.
	Under the terms of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, goods originating in the State of Israel may be imported into the European Union at preferential rates of duty, including zero rates. Israeli exports to the UK were worth 911 million in 2002.
	This agreement forms part of the broader relationship between the EU and 12 Mediterranean countries, known as the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. Through a series of Association Agreements, each country will gain access to the EU market on an equal and non-discriminatory basis.

Cote d'Ivoire

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had concerning the disarmament of rebel opposition forces in the Ivory Coast.

Chris Mullin: UK officials and Ministers have regular discussions with key partners on a range of issues related to the peace process.
	The UK fully supports the Linas Marcoussis Agreement (LMA) as the basis for sustainable peace in Cote d'lvoire. The LMA provides for a disarmament process, as well as a programme of legislation to address the underlying causes of the crisis. We welcome the steps that have been taken in recent months on both these issues. It is important that disarmament, demobilisation and re-integration, and progress in the wider peace process, continue in parallel. We urge all parties concerned to make early progress.

Caribbean

Derek Conway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has received on the implications for British posts in the Caribbean region of his Department's paper on UK International Priorities, a Strategy for the FCO.

Bill Rammell: I understand that we have received one such representation since the publication of the White Paper, UK International Priorities: A Strategy for the FCO on 2 December 2003.

Caribbean

Derek Conway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what deadline he has set for responses to his paper on UK International Priorities, a Strategy for the FCO; and whether the paper will be discussed at the Caribbean Foreign Ministers forum in May.

Bill Rammell: No deadline has been set for responses to the White Paper, UK International Priorities: A Strategy for the FCO. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will review the strategy every two years, inviting external contributions.
	Discussion at the UK/Caribbean forum in May will focus on key areas of mutual interest, including security cooperation, trade policy and HIV/AIDS.

United Nations

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what mechanisms exist to establish a forum at United Nations level facilitating dialogue between aid representatives and representatives of governments.

Bill Rammell: The United Nations organises many fora where aid representatives and representatives of government can hold a dialogue. We do not believe there is a need to establish new fora. Various UN funds and programmes and specialised agencies work in the development area; the regular meetings of their governing bodies allow a dialogue between the organisations concerned and member states. The General Assembly and Economic and Social Council of the UN frequently discuss development issues. At a country level, regular exchanges between aid representatives and donor governments take place on a bilateral and multilateral basis.

Zimbabwe

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the level of public expenditure by the Office of the President of Zimbabwe.

Chris Mullin: Comparison of the Zimbabwe state budget for 2004 with the original and supplementary budgets of 2003 shows a significant increase in provision for the Office of the President. We have not made an analysis of how this money is actually spent.

Zimbabwe

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Zimbabwe Government about its (a) Public Order and Security Act and (b) Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Chris Mullin: We have made the Government of Zimbabwe aware of our concerns about legislation, which is being used to suppress basic human rights such as freedom of speech and association, and freedom of the press.
	EU Foreign Ministers, including my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, met on 23 February, and issued a strong statement condemning human rights abuses in Zimbabwe which drew specific attention to these Acts.

Zimbabwe

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) the European Union, (b) the United Nations and (c) the Commonwealth on the activities of the youth militia in Zimbabwe.

Chris Mullin: The use by the Zimbabwe Government of youth militias (the so called Green Bombers) for violence and intimidation of government opponents is well documented. We and our EU partners have called for the immediate closure of the youth training camps.
	With our EU partners, we are discussing the tabling of a resolution on Zimbabwe at the UN Commission on Human Rights when it meets later this month. The intent is to highlight the level of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe and to call on the Government of Zimbabwe to take action.
	Violence and human rights in Zimbabwe was a major theme of discussion at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Abuja in December, which decided to maintain Zimbabwe's suspension from the Councils of the Commonwealth.

Zimbabwe

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the European Union about the list of persons from Zimbabwe banned from travelling to member states in the European Union.

Chris Mullin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave to the right hon. and learned Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram) on 23 February 2004, Official Report, column 96W.

Zimbabwe

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the list published in the Daily News in Zimbabwe in 2003 of (a) police and (b) others who are suspected of human rights abuses.

Chris Mullin: We take seriously information on reported human rights abusers in Zimbabwe such as those on the Daily News list. We will continue to make our concerns about the abuse of human rights clear to the Zimbabwe authorities.

CABINET OFFICE

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will list the buildings occupied by his staff which require (a) remedial work on and (b) the removal of asbestos; what that work will cost; what budgets are available for this work for (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005; and what budget is available for future asbestos surveys.

Douglas Alexander: None of the buildings occupied by Cabinet Office staff including the Government Car and Despatch Agency and Central Office of Information require remedial work in relation to the presence of asbestos. The Emergency Planning College in Easingwold has one residential building that requires the removal of asbestos and it is due to be demolished in September 2004. 10,500 has been set aside for the removal of asbestos from this building.
	Future asbestos surveys will be funded as required from the estates maintenance budget.
	Responsibility for buildings occupied but not controlled by Cabinet Office rests with the respective landlords.

Official Publications

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much the Department spent on official publications in each year since 1999.

Douglas Alexander: The details of my Department's spend on the production and purchase of all publications in each year from 199899 to 200304 can be found in the following table:
	
		
			  Total (000) 
		
		
			 199899 2,013 
			 19992000 2,815 
			 200001 2,834 
			 200102 2,751 
			 200203 3,236 
			 200304 (Estimated) 1,330

Public Service (Disqualification)

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office in which areas of public service and activity (a) illiteracy and (b) mental ill health are a disqualification from participation.

Douglas Alexander: Recruitment to the Civil Service and for public appointments is based on merit. Within the framework laid down by the Civil Service Order in Council 1995 and the Civil Service Commissioner's Recruitment Code, departments and agencies have the authority to prescribe qualifications for appointment to positions in their organisations in relation to age, knowledge, ability, professional attainment, aptitude, potential, health and coping with the demands of the job.
	Under the Civil Service Management Code, departments and agencies must ensure that their recruitment systems deliver recruits who are appropriate to their needs and who are able to do the work required subject to reasonable adjustments under the terms of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
	When making public appointments, departments are required to follow the Commissioner for Public Appointments' Code of Practice to ensure appointment on merit. Criteria for selection can take account of the need to appoint boards that include a balance of skills and background.

Regulatory Impact Assessments

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what guidance his Department has issued on the provision of (a) an estimate of the cost of enforcement of regulation and (b) a description of how the regulation is to be monitored in regulatory impact assessments.

Douglas Alexander: In January 2003, the Cabinet Office issued 'Better Policy Making: A Guide to Regulatory Impact Assessment' detailed guidance on the regulatory impact assessment(RIA) process. This recommends that all RIAs should include analysis of the costs and benefits of proposals and set out the necessary monitoring and evaluation processes. Copies are available in the Libraries of the House. Revised web-based guidance, building on the January version, was issued by the Cabinet Office in November 2003. This can be found at www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/regulation/ria-guidance/

Regulatory Impact Assessments

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many regulatory impact statements were issued by the Small Business Service in each year since 1998; and if he will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: I have been asked to reply.
	The Small Business Service does not issue regulatory impact assessments.

DEFENCE

Airfield Support Services Project

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the original expected date was for announcing a decision on the Airfield Support Services Project; what the current expected date is; and what the reasons are for the delay.

Adam Ingram: The Main Gate approval decision for the Airfield Support Services Project was originally envisaged for the first quarter of 2003. Although we are now moving towards this major decision stage, no decision has been made and I am not yet in a position to say exactly when this will be. The evaluation of this complex project has taken longer than anticipated. The time taken reflects the need to ensure that a fully informed decision is made.

Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what guidance his Department has issued to companies on Part 12 of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001;
	(2)  what meetings his Department has held with companies to discuss (a) Part 12 of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 and (b) corruption laws in the UK; and on what dates.

Adam Ingram: Guidance in this area is a matter for the Department of Trade and Industry. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my noble Friend Lord Sainsbury of Turville on 4 March 2004, Official Report, column 120WA, in another place. The Ministry of Defence has not issued guidance or held meetings with United Kingdom companies in respect of the Act.

Arms Dealers

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether arms dealers whose commodities do not (a) originate in and (b) enter the UK are subject to end user certificate legislation; and if he will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: I have been asked to reply.
	From 1 May 2004, controls will apply in certain cases in respect of military goods traded between countries outside the UK (controls on such trade to embargoed destinations came into force on 3 March 2004). End-user documentation requirements under the new trafficking and brokering controls will be similar to those currently in place under existing export controls.

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of buildings occupied by (a) his Department's staff and (b) staff of his Department's executive agencies have been surveyed to date for the purpose of identifying the presence of asbestos prior to implementation of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence complies fully with the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulation 2002, but there is no central register of surveyed buildings in which asbestos is known to be present belonging to the department or its agencies. Such a register or list could be compiled only at disproportionate cost. Once surveys have been undertaken, however, a management plan is produced by each establishment to ensure appropriate action is taken.

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the buildings occupied by his departmental staff, including agencies, which require (a) remedial work on and (b) the removal of asbestos; what that work will cost; what budgets are available for this work for (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005; and what budget is available for future asbestos surveys.

Ivor Caplin: There is no central register of surveyed buildings occupied by Departmental staff including agencies, which require either remedial work on or the removal of asbestos. Such a register or list could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.

Continuous Attitudes Survey

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times per annum the Continuous Attitudes Survey is distributed among (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) RAF personnel; how long assessment of the answers took on average for each round in each of the last four years; what the participation rate was in each of the last four years (i) in total numbers and (ii) as a percentage of distributed surveys each year for each of the three branches; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The Continuous Attitude Surveys (CAS) are run differently in the three Services.
	Royal Navy
	The RN CAS was distributed four times in the year 2000, three times in 2001 and twice in 2002 and 2003. The average time taken to process answers and conduct initial analysis of raw data is three months.
	
		
			  Issues Number of questionnaires distributed Number of responses received Response rate (%) 
		
		
			 2000 January, April, July November 8,022 3,417 42.5 
			 2001 March, July, December 6,000 2,713 45.2 
			 2002 June, September 4,000 1,898 47.4 
			 2003 January, September 5,027 2,321 46.1 
		
	
	Army
	The Army CAS is distributed bi-annually. It takes approximately seven-eight months to collate the questionnaires, and complete the analysis.
	The timing of survey distributions over the last four years has not been standardised. The following table shows response-rate figures by each survey distributed over the last four years.
	
		
			 Survey number Number of responses received Response rate (%) 
		
		
			 SP1 2,634 57 
			 SP2 2,110 53 
			 SP3 2,037 51 
			 SP4 1,753 44 
			 SP5 2,324 48 
		
	
	RAF
	The RAF CAS is issued four times per year, on the first working day of each February, May, August and November. A database of responses is prepared within three to four months of the survey's distribution. Analyses can be carried out at any time once the database is available. Response-rate statistics are set out in the following.
	
		
			  Issues Number of questionnaires distributed Number of responses received Response rate (%) 
		
		
			 2000 February, May, August, November 8,000 4,691 58.6 
			 2001 February, May, August, November 8,000 4,678 58.5 
			 2002 February, May, August, November 8,000 4,528 56.6 
			 2003 February, May, August(5) 6,000 3,090 51.5 
		
	
	(5) November data not yet available .

Defence Bills Agency

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many bills were processed by the Defence Bills Agency in fiscal year 200203; what the total value of the bills was; and what the total amount paid out was in (a) 200203, (b) 200102 and (c) 200001.

Ivor Caplin: In 200203, the Defence Bills Agency processed 4,537,462 bills.The value of the bills processed by DBA in each of the last three years was as follows:
	
		
			   million 
		
		
			 200203 17,462 
			 200102 16,986 
			 200001 15,914

Defence Bills Agency

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many bills pertaining to (a) companies based in Scotland and (b) procurement projects relating to bases in Scotland were processed by the Defence Bills Agency in fiscal year 200203; what the total value of the bills was; and what the total amount paid out was in (i) 200203, (ii) 200102 and (iii) 200001.

Ivor Caplin: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Defence-related Industries

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how his Department calculates the number of people employed in and by defence related industries in the regions of the UK; what multiplier is used; and what the (a) regional and (b) national totals are.

Ivor Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 12 December 2002, Official Report, column 418W in which the methodology was described. As indicated in this answer, a detailed report was being prepared. This is now available as Defence Statistics Bulletin 5. It has been published on the Defence Analytical Services Agency's website: www.dasa.mod. uk/statbulletin/bulletin5.pdf.
	The latest estimate of the number of full time jobs supported in the UK by MOD expenditure and defence exports is around 295,000 in 200102. No estimate is currently available on the breakdown of employment numbers by region.

Eurofighter Typhoon

Michael Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what studies he has conducted on the impact on BAE (a) workflows and (b) employment prospects of the delay in agreeing the Tranche II order for Eurofighter Typhoons.

Adam Ingram: As part of our approach defined in the Defence Industrial Policy Paper, we continually monitor with industry the effects of defence expenditure on the industrial base. However the direct impact on BAE systems of workflows and employment prospects are a matter for the company. Negotiations with our partner nations and industry on the Tranche II order for Typhoons are ongoing.

Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Royal Navy ships will visit Gibraltar for the tercentenary celebrations.

Adam Ingram: Plans have been made for the Royal Navy to support the tercentenary commemorations. I am withholding details of future ship programmes, under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information for security reasons.

Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will visit Gibraltar in 2004.

Adam Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made to the House on 27 November 2003, Official Report, columns 22425 by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence.

Iraq

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his oral answer of 26 January 2003, Official Report, column 8, on Iraq, to the hon. Member for Stockton, South (Ms Taylor), what resources were in theatre but did not reach front-line forces in time for deployment.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 29 January 2004
	A full report on Operation TELIC entitled Operations in Iraq: Lessons for the Future can be found on the MOD's website (www.mod.uk in the Publications and Reports section). The report identifies several factors as being responsible for delivery problems that occurred in theatre. These include the asset tracking systems in place and the short period of time available for preparation and planning of deployment. Specific items that suffered from delivery problems in theatre include some vehicle spares and personal kit such as, desert combat clothing and Enhanced Combat Body Armour plates. Where there was a lack of equipment, priority was given to those personnel on the ground whom commanders judged to have the greatest need. We have drawn lessons from this and other recent operations, such as improving our asset tracking capability, and are always looking for ways in which to enhance our logistics performance.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his latest estimate is of civilian deaths arising from attacks by insurgents in the British zone in Southern Iraq since the official cessation of hostilities.

Adam Ingram: It is not possible to estimate the number of civilian deaths which might be attributable to insurgent attacks.

Iraq

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2004, Official Report, column 790W, on Iraq, how many rounds were issued to the Royal Military Police Personnel who lost their lives in Al Majarr Al Kabir on 24 June 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: A Board of Inquiry (BOI) is being convened today, to examine the circumstances in which the 6 Royal Military Policemen died. The BOI will address a wide-ranging series of questions including the issue of equipment to the men prior to their departure for Al Majarr Al Kabir. I would not wish to speculate on the BOFs conclusions.

Iraq

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civil servants are searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: On 9 March 2004 there were 22 UK civil servants attached to the Iraq Survey Group, which is responsible for the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons the British members of the Iraq Survey Group have not been provided with direct access to the Iraqi Government declaration on its weapons of mass destruction programme dated 8 December 2002.

Geoff Hoon: The Iraqi Declaration on WMD programmes consists of 12,093 pages, some 3,500 of which are written in Arabic. The declaration covers Chemical Weapons, Biological Weapons, Nuclear and Missile activities. The full document is available in hard copy in London and Washington, with supporting documents and translations of relevant pages of Arabic available in soft copy. Although the ISG do not have immediate access to a full copy of the declaration, British members can access relevant parts through London, whenever they wish.

Met Office

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his estimate is of the asset value of the Meterological Office; what the cost in 200304 to his Department is of this organisation; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The Met Office operates as a Trading Fund and is self-financing.
	The only direct cost of the Met Office to the Ministry of Defence as owner is a cost of capital charge which is made by the Treasury on all assets held by the MOD. The published accounts of the Met Office show that at 31 March 2003 its net assets were 159,498,000.

RAF St. Athan

John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress is being made on the joint provision of leisure facilities at RAF St. Athan by the Ministry of Defence and the local authority for use by military and civilian personnel; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: In December 2003, following discussions between MOD, the Welsh Development Agency and Vale of Glamorgan council officials, a firm of external consultants was appointed to undertake a study into the feasibility of a leisure centre that could be used by both Service personnel and the local community. They are due to report in April 2004.

Regimental Artefacts

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence apart from the colours displayed in Windsor Castle, where the regimental silver and other artefacts of the Irish regiments disbanded in 1922 are held; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: When the five Irish Infantry Regiments, together with the South Irish Horse, were disbanded in 1922, some items of Regimental memorabilia were reclaimed by donors or dispersed among former officers and NCOs. Some Regimental books were deposited at the Public Record Office, now the National Archives. Otherwise, the greater part of Mess silver and artefacts now belongs to the National Army Museum, which is the Regimental Museum for the disbanded Irish Regiments. Canadian silver and artefacts of the 1st Battalion Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadian) are now in the Museum of the Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario.

Territorial Army

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel (a) joined and (b) left the Territorial Army in each month during (i) 2002 and (ii) 2003, and what the reason for departure was in each case.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 5 March 2004
	Reliable inflow and outflow data for the TA are not currently available and for the same reason it is not possible to provide reasons for departure.

Warships

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what increase in capability would result from the upgrading of the gun turret on a Type 45 destroyer to house (a) a 127 mm and (b) a 155 mm gun, instead of a standard 115mm gun.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 4 March 2004
	The overall capability offered by the Type 45 destroyer's gun is not related simply to the calibre of the barrel, but to the ammunition which could be used.
	The standard 115 mm (4.5) gun is capable of delivering conventional munitions to a range of up to 27 km. 127 mm and 155 mm guns would be capable of firing munitions to a range of 7580 km. They would also be capable of firing modern guided munitions and, in the case of the 155 mm gun, these would be considerably heavier than the 115 mm gun's conventional munitions.
	The design of the Type 45 includes space and weight margins which would allow for the fitting of an improved Medium Range Gun, should such a requirement emerge. There is no such requirement at present. In the case of a 155 mm gun, this would also depend on the maturity of its technology, as there are no such naval guns yet in service world-wide.

Warships

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the expected decommissioning dates are of (a) HMS Newcastle, (b) HMS Cardiff, (c) HMS Glasgow, (d) HMS Liverpool, (e) HMS Norfolk and (f) HMS Iron Duke.

Adam Ingram: The present decommissioning dates for each ship are as follows.
	
		
			  Decommissioning dates 
		
		
			 HMS Newcastle 2007 
			 HMS Cardiff 2008 
			 HMS Glasgow 2009 
			 HMS Liverpool 2009 
			 HMS Norfolk 2014 
			 HMS Iron Duke 2020

Warships

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the Type-42 destroyers to be fitted with the Warship Electronic Chart Display and Information System.

Adam Ingram: The Warship Electronic Chart Display and Information System (WECDIS) will be fitted to the following Type 42 Destroyers: HMS Exeter, HMS Liverpool, HMS Nottingham, HMS Southampton, HMS Edinburgh, HMS Gloucester, HMS Manchester and HMS York.

Wind Farms

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the holding of low flying military exercises near renewable wind developments;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the effect of renewable wind developments on military low flying exercises.

Ivor Caplin: The presence of wind farms in most areas of the UK presents no difficulty to low flying training providing pilots are aware of the existence and position of the developments. They are treated the same as any other obstruction; displayed on military low flying charts and published in the Military Aeronautical Planning Document Volume 3 Part 1. They are then taken into account during route planning and avoided by standard separation criteria, these vary according to the type of aircraft.
	The Tactical Training Areas and the Electronic Warfare Training Range at Spadeadam in the English/Scottish border region are critical to low flying training because aircraft are allowed to fly at much lower levels. Within these areas an accumulation of wind turbines, particularly if combined with other obstacles, could give rise to concerns and could affect our ability to conduct operational flying training effectively. We are therefore more likely to raise objections to proposals for developments in these areas.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Census Returns

John Taylor: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment he has made of the financial consequences of reducing the 100-year closure period for decennial population census records for England.

Christopher Leslie: Under Lord Chancellor's Instrument no.12 of 1966 the decennial census returns are closed for 100 years, on the grounds that they contain information supplied in confidence. It would not, therefore, be appropriate to estimate the financial impact of earlier release dates.

Departmental Communications

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many staff are employed in the Department to work in the communications field, broken down by (a) Government Information and Communication Service staff and (b) other staff, broken down by (i) press officers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) others.

David Lammy: The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA), which includes its agenciesthe Court Service and the Public Guardianship Office (PGO)employs 60 staff in communications work. This figure comprises 24 staff of the Government Information and Communication Service (GICS) and 36 others.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Department for Constitutional Affairs HQ: 
			 (a) GICS staff:  
			 (i) Press Officers 13 
			 (ii) Special Advisers 0 
			 (iii) Others 11 
			 (b) Other staff: 
			 (i) Press Officers 1 
			 (ii) Special Advisers 2 
			 (iii) Others 10 
			   
			 Court Service:  
			 (a) GICS staff: 
			 (i) Press Officers 0 
			 (ii) Special Advisers 0 
			 (iii) Others 0 
			 (b) Other staff: 
			 (i) Press Officers 0 
			 (ii) Special Advisers 0 
			 (iii) Others 20 
			   
			 Public Guardianship Office: 
			 (a) GICS staff:  
			 (i) Press Officers 0 
			 (ii) Special Advisers 0 
			 (iii) Others 0 
			 (b) Other staff:  
			 (i) Press Officers 1 
			 (ii) Special Advisers 0 
			 (iii) Others 2 
		
	
	Note:
	'Others' includes staff working on publications, publicity, internal communications, websites and administration.

Court Buildings (Disabled Access)

David Lidington: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will list the court buildings that are not yet compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995; and, for each such court, when his Department plans to comply with the Act.

Christopher Leslie: Taking the 1 April of 2004 as a baseline, the court buildings scheduled in the list will not be compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 on that date. A plan of works is in hand to ensure that, with one exception, all these buildings will comply with the Act, in so far as is reasonable, by 30 September 2004. The one exception is the Crown court at Cardiff where it is not anticipated that the necessary works will be completed until 30 November 2004.
	Midland Circuit
	Boston county court
	Burton county court
	Buxton county court
	Chesterfield county court
	Evesham county court
	Hereford Crown court
	Kettering county court
	Kidderminster county court
	Leicester Crown court
	Lincoln Crown court
	Ludlow county court
	Mansfield county court
	Newark county court
	Nottingham Crown and county courts
	Nuneaton county court
	Oswestry county court
	Redditch county court
	Shrewsbury county court
	Shrewsbury Crown court
	Stoke on Trent combined court centre
	Stourbridge county court
	Stratford upon Avon county court
	Tamworth county court
	Telford county court
	Walsall county court
	Warwick combined court centre
	Warwick Shire Hall
	Wellingborough county court
	West Midlands court centre
	Worksop county court
	North Eastern Circuit
	Bradford combined court
	Dewsbury county court
	Durham Crown court
	Gateshead county court
	Halifax county court
	Rotherham county court
	Scunthorpe county court
	Sunderland county court
	York County
	York Crown
	Northern Circuit
	Accrington county court
	Altrincham county court
	Barrow in Furness county court
	Birkenhead county court
	Blackburn county court
	Blackpool county court
	Bolton combined court
	Burnley combined court
	Bury county court
	Carlisle combined court
	Chorley county court
	Kendal county court
	Lancaster county court
	Lancaster Crown court
	Leigh county court
	Liverpool combined court
	Manchester Crown court (Crown Square)
	Manchester Crown court (Minshull Street)
	Manchester county court
	Nelson county court
	Oldham county court
	Penrith county court
	Preston combined court
	Preston Crown court (Sessions House)
	Rawtenstall county court
	St. Helens county court
	Salford county court
	Southport county court
	Stockport county court
	Tameside county court
	Whitehaven county court
	Wigan county court
	South Eastern Circuit
	Ashford county court
	Aylesbury county court
	Bedford county court
	Bury St. Edmunds county court
	Chichester combined court
	Dartford county court
	Eastbourne county court
	Gravesend county court
	Hastings county court
	Hertford county court
	Hitchin county court
	Inner London Session House Crown court
	Kings Lynn Crown court
	Kings Lynn county court
	Kingston Upon Thames county court
	Lewes combined court
	Lowestoft county court
	Southend Crown court
	Tunbridge Wells county court
	Supreme Court Circuit
	Barnet county court
	Bow county court
	Brentford county court
	Central London county court
	Central London Hearing Centre
	Clerkenwell county court
	Supreme Court Taxing Office (Clifford's Inn)
	Edmonton county court
	Ilford county court
	Lambeth county court
	Romford county court
	Royal Courts of Justice
	Shoreditch county court
	Wandsworth county court
	Technology and Construction Court (St. Dunstan's House)
	West London county court
	Willesden county court
	Woolwich county court
	Wales and Chester Circuit
	Aberystwyth county court
	Cardiff Crown court (1st November 2004)
	Carmarthen county court
	Chester Crown court
	Newport Crown court
	Northwich county court
	Swansea Civil Justice Centre
	Swansea Crown court
	Welshpool County
	Western Circuit
	Aldershot county court
	Barnstaple county court
	Basingstoke county court
	Bath county court
	Bournemouth combined court
	Bristol Guildhall
	Dorchester combined court
	Poole county court
	Portsmouth combined court
	Salisbury combined court
	Southampton combined court
	Southampton combined court (Western Range)
	Swindon combined court
	Trowbridge county court
	Truro combined court
	Weston-Super-Mare county court
	Weymouth combined court
	Winchester combined court
	The magistrates courts have been excluded from the answer as they are presently the responsibility of the local Magistrates Courts Committees and no central records of this data are held.

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many Parliamentary Questions have been tabled to the Department or its predecessors since 1 January 2003, broken down by (a) ordinary written and (b) named day; what percentage in respect of (a) were answered within 10 working days; and what percentage in respect of (b) were answered by the specified date.

Christopher Leslie: During the period 1 January 2003 to 24 February 2004, my Department has answered 963 ordinary written Parliamentary Questions of which 89 per cent. were answered within 10 days and 122 named day Parliamentary Questions of which 82 per cent. were answered on the specified date. My Department endeavours to answer all Parliamentary Questions within their deadlines.

Westminster Hall

Bob Spink: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make it the policy of the Department to have senior Ministers reply to debates in Westminster Hall.

David Lammy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Leader of the House on 8 March 2004, Official Report, column 1234W.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Television Licence Fees

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what (a) amount and (b) proportion of BBC licensing revenue was lost as a result of evasion in the last year for which figures are available.

Estelle Morris: As at March 2003, the estimated television licence evasion rate was 7.2 per cent., representing approximately 205 million in lost television licence fee revenue.

Television Licence Fees

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport for what proportion of television licence-holders the cost of their licence exceeded 2 per cent. of annual income in the last year for which figures are available.

Estelle Morris: The information requested is not available since TV Licensing, who administer the television licensing system for the BBC, do not maintain statistics on the income of licence fee payers.

Television Licence Fees

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many persons were (a) fined and (b) imprisoned for not having a television licence in 2003.

Estelle Morris: Home Office figures show that 94,590 defendants were fined for offences under the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 to 1967 (mainly television licence evasion) in England-and Wales in 2002. Figures for 2003 will be published in late Autumn.
	Custodial sentences are not available for television licence evasion, the maximum penalty being a fine. However, custodial sentences can be imposed for non-payment of such a fine. In 2003, 17 males and three females received custodial sentences for defaulting on the payment of a fine for TV Licence evasion.

Television Licence Fees

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many prosecutions there were for offences connected with television licensing in 2003.

Estelle Morris: TV Licensing, who administer the television licensing system for the BBC, gather these figures on a financial year basis. 149,000 people were prosecuted during 200203.

Cultural Programmes

Denis Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the UK bodies that have benefited from funding under (a) the Kaleidoscope Programme, (b) the Ariane Programme and (c) the Raphael Programme.

Estelle Morris: Neither this Department nor the European Commission maintain an electronic database of awards that were made under the Kaleidoscope, Ariane and Raphael cultural funding programmes. We have, however, asked Euclid, the UK's Cultural Contact Point, who maintain paper records of all awards made under the aforementioned programmes to compile a list of UK recipients.
	The list is likely to be too extensive to be printed in full in the Official Report and therefore will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses by 19 March 2004. Euclid has already started work on compiling an electronic database for UK recipients of awards under the current Culture 2000 funding programme.

Edgworth Cricket and Recreation Club

Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the North West Regional Sports Board will reach a decision on the application from the Edgworth Cricket and Recreation Club for support for pavilion development.

Richard Caborn: Sport England have advised that following the first meeting of the North West Regional Sports Board they wrote to Edgworth Cricket and Recreation Club on 5 February 2004 setting out the three funding options available to the Club in light of the current funding streams in the North West Region.

Entertainment Costs

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the costs to public funds was of parties held for the private offices of Ministers in her Department in the last five years.

Richard Caborn: Since 2001 no parties have been held solely for the benefit of private office staff. From time to time private office staff are invited to attend certain functions held for external people.
	No information is held for the period prior to 2001.

Libraries (Digitisation)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much money has been spent on the digitisation of content in libraries in Crosby since 1997.

Estelle Morris: Sefton borough council is a partner in the Merseyside Gateway Project which received 370,000 from the New Opportunities Fund to create a website depicting the history and growth of the Port of Liverpool and its environs. Crosby library supplied around two-thirds of the local images supplied by Sefton to the website. The Council's contribution to the project was 5,000.

New Opportunities Fund (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much money from the New Opportunities Fund was allocated to Buckingham in each year since 1997.

Estelle Morris: The New Opportunities Fund began making grants in 1999. The awards to the Buckingham constituency are shown in the table which is derived from information supplied by the New Opportunities Fund.
	
		
			   
		
		
			 1999 26,850 
			 2000 73,109 
			 2001 5,000 
			 2002 9,130 
			 2003 128,658 
			 To February 2004 0

Project Funding

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) solely state-financed and (b) public-private partnership and private finance initiative projects for which her Department is responsible have been launched in each region in each of the last 10 years.

Richard Caborn: I refer my hon. Friend to HM Treasury's website which contains details of all signed PFI projects: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/documents/public private partnerships/ppp pfi stats.cfm. The list can be searched by Department and by region and it contains details of all PFI deals signed over the last 10 years, including the capital value of each project.
	The information concerning solely state financed projects, and all public-private partnerships could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Project Funding

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by (a) the Government on solely state-financed projects and (b) the (i) Government and (ii) private sector on public-private and private finance initiative projects for which her Department is responsible, in each of the last 10 years, broken down by region.

Richard Caborn: I refer my hon. Friend to HM Treasury's website which contains details of all signed PFI projects: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/documents/public private partnerships/ppp pfi stats.cfm. The list can be searched by Department and by region and it contains details of all PFI deals signed over the last 10 years.
	The information concerning solely state financed projects, and all public-private partnerships could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Television Ownership

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate her Department has made of the number of households who do not own a television in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.

Estelle Morris: The information requested is not available since TV Licensing, who administer the television licensing system for the BBC, do not maintain statistics on television ownership in the individual nations of the United Kingdom. However, in the UK as a whole, an estimated 2 per cent. of households do not have a television set.

Tourism (Regional Development Agencies)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the work of regional development agencies in developing tourism in Crosby.

Richard Caborn: The North West Development Agency (NWDA) is working closely with The Mersey Partnership (TMP), the nominated Destination Management Organisation (DMQ) for Merseyside.
	During 200304 TMP received 320,000 from NWDA's Marketing Image Budget for tourism and investment campaigns to promote Merseyside, including Crosby. In addition, 419,000 was provided from NWDA's Tourism budget for a variety of projects. However, NWDA does not have a specific breakdown of funding provided to the area at this stage.
	NWDA has also supported a programme for the Mersey Waterfront Regional Park, which covers an area from Southport to Wirral, including Crosby. The programme is aimed at transforming and energising the Mersey Waterfront to produce a unique sense of place for people to live, work, visit and invest in Merseyside.

Weymouth Transmitter

Jim Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether planned upgrades to the Weymouth transmitter will enable the broadcast of digital signal prior to turning off the analogue signal.

Estelle Morris: The Weymouth site has recently been updated to transmit digital radio. However, until analogue signals are switched off there will be no frequencies available to broadcast digital television services from the Weymouth transmitter without causing interference to viewers' existing analogue signals.

Weymouth Transmitter

Jim Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which broadcasters are responsible for the upgrading of the Weymouth transmitter to enable digital broadcasting.

Estelle Morris: The Weymouth site is owned by Crown Castle but ntl also use the transmitter. Upgrading is therefore their joint responsibility on behalf of the multiplex operators (BBC, Digital 3/4, SDN and Crown Castle International) under Ofcom's regulation.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Casinos

Sue Doughty: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what account regional development agencies take of the prevention of proliferation in problem gambling when assessing proposed large regional casino schemes.

Jacqui Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	The consideration of where large regional casino schemes should be encouraged falls to regional planning bodies (RPBs) rather than regional development agencies (RDAs), as it is RPBs that prepare regional planning guidance.

Child Poverty

Barbara Roche: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps his Department is taking to achieve the Government's targets of (a) ending child poverty by 2020, (b) halving it by 2010 and (c) reducing it by a quarter by 200405; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesham (Mr. Pond) on 12 February 2004, Official Report, column 1590W.

Civil Servants

Vincent Cable: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many civil servants, broken down by grade, there are in the Department and the agencies for which the Department is responsible; and what the figures were in January 1997.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 9 February 2004, Official Report, column 1294W.

Care Homes (Gloucestershire)

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  whether his Department sanctioned Gloucestershire county council's accumulation of uncollected rents from Coverage Care (Gloucestershire) Ltd.; and what steps his Department is taking in the matter;
	(2)  what financial guarantees he has approved Gloucestershire county council to make in order for (a) Coverage Care (Gloucestershire) Ltd. and (b) a successor body to continue to operate elderly care homes;
	(3)  what contingency arrangements his Department has made to prevent closure of care homes run by Coverage Care (Gloucestershire) Ltd.; what liabilities will be undertaken by Gloucestershire county council; and whether any liabilities will be funded by council tax revenues.

Yvette Cooper: Section 25 of the Local Government Act 1988 requires the consent of the Secretary of State to be obtained if a local authority decides to give financial assistance in connection with elderly persons' residential accommodation.
	The Secretary of State consented to Gloucestershire county council giving financial assistance in 1994 when the current arrangements with Coverage Care (Gloucestershire) Ltd were entered into. In 1999, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister granted a general consent to all local authorities in England to give financial assistance in various circumstances. No other consent has been sought by the Council or granted. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not sanctioned the accumulation of uncollected rents from Coverage Care.
	Powers to make arrangements for residential care are vested in local authorities and therefore it is the responsibility of Gloucestershire county council to deliver this service to the public. Consequently, it is not for Government to make contingency arrangements.

Housing (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on how the change in the level of central Government funding for local authority financed housing has affected the residents of Buckingham since 1997.

Keith Hill: Buckingham is within the district of Aylesbury Vale. Aylesbury Vale district council received housing capital allocations of 1.7 million in 199798, rising to 6.1 million in 200405. This is an increase of 250 per cent. over the period.
	How these allocations have been spent in relation to the residents of Buckingham is a matter for Aylesbury Vale district council.

Quality Parish and Town Council Scheme

Anthony Steen: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how public participation is implemented in the Quality Parish and Town Council Scheme; and if he will make a statement on how the scheme is progressing.

Nick Raynsford: Decisions to award Quality parish status are taken by county accreditation panels established through the National Association of Local Councils and approved by Government. To gain Quality status a parish or town council must demonstrate that they effectively communicate and actively engage with the electorate they represent, including having a majority of their seats filled through election.
	There has been considerable interest in the scheme since its launch last year, and so far 36 councils have been granted Quality status.

Radon Tests

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make legislative provision for (a) radon tests to be carried out on (i) old and (ii) new homes and (b) to require a radon test certificate to be furnished at the time of conveyancing.

Phil Hope: There are no plans for legislation to require radon testing of homes.
	(i) In the case of homes built without radon protection, successive governments have run a radon measurement programme to identify the extent of the radon problem. In the last eight years it has mainly focused on homes likely to be at most risk. In England, where the problem is estimated to be greatest, and in Northern Ireland, that has meant every home with a greater than 5 per cent. probability of having radon concentrations at or above the National Radiological Protection Board recommended level of 200 becquerels per cubic metre of air, has been offered a free radon test. The Government's current programme continues to offer free tests to the homes at most at risk. This targeting has encouraged the more at risk householders to undertake radon remediation. This is an approach that has been tested and shown that it can double the amount of remediation in homes where there is greatest risk from this naturally occurring radioactive gas.
	Under the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's proposals for home information packs, the pack is likely to include information on whether the property is located within a radon affected area. Issues of practicality and cost suggest that it would not be appropriate to require radon testing as part of a statutory home information pack scheme. However, this will be considered further by specialist working groups that are being set up to consider the contents of the pack before any final decisions are taken.
	(ii) Post completion tests of houses that include radon measures had demonstrated that the level of protection is adequate and it would be uneconomic to test every house. Of the few houses where the radon levels have risen after occupation all but one were due to alterations to the house and the increase level in the remaining house was due to the use of a method of protection that is not recommended in official guidance.
	(b) The revised questions in the searches form used in conveyancing are much more pointed in relation to radon and ask about radon tests and radon proofing. As the standardised procedures relating to house purchases address radon much more effectively than was the case in the past, there is no case to require test certificates through legislation.

Regional Assemblies

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations he has received from the Electoral Commission concerning the publication of information by the Government during the period prior to the referendums on the proposed elected regional assemblies.

Nick Raynsford: Sam Younger, Chairman of the Electoral Commission, wrote to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in January about the timing of the Government's information campaign about elected regional assemblies. He suggested that the Government's information campaign should stop once the referendum period begins.
	In my reply, I have pointed out that during the course of the Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Bill, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister undertook to deliver a leaflet providing information about the referendum issues to every household in the regions affected. It is not feasible for us to print or deliver that leaflet before the referendums have been called and the date of those referendums is settled. This commitment to Parliament could not be honoured if Mr. Younger's suggestion was followed.
	Section 125 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA) requires the Government to stop providing information 28 days before the close of poll. However, we intend these referendums to be conducted by all-postal ballot, which means that voters will receive their ballot papers, and be able to vote, up to three weeks before close of poll. We have therefore indicated to the Chairman of the Electoral Commission our intention to stop our information campaign 28 days before the first day that ballot papers can be dispatched. This complies with both the letter and the spirit of the PPERA and enables our commitment to Parliament to be honoured.

Regional Assemblies

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to ensure that arguments (a) in favour of and (b) against elected regional assemblies will be put to the public at the regional hearings he is conducting in the next two months.

Nick Raynsford: The regional hearings are to enable Ministers to hear views from members of the public, and others, about the proposed powers of elected regional assemblies. They are not about presenting arguments in favour of or against elected assemblies. However, representatives from both the yes and no campaigns have been invited to attend the hearings as they are key stakeholders in the regions.

Regional Assemblies

Ann Winterton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the proposed Government grants of 780 million for the North West Region, 350 million for the North East Region and 570 million for Yorkshire and the Humber Region are subject to financial restraints for allocation and use; and by whom they are controlled.

Nick Raynsford: The finance powers of elected regional assemblies were set out in Chapter 5 of the White Paper Your Region, Your Choice: Revitalising the English Regions (Cm. 5511).
	The Government want to give elected regional assemblies the maximum flexibility over how they spend the money allocated to them. It would constrain an assembly unduly if grants were to be ear-marked by central Government for specific purposes. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister therefore proposes to give regional assemblies a single block grant with freedom to spend money as they judge best.
	In return, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will expect each assembly to help achieve in their region a small number of targets agreed with the Government and relevant to an assembly's responsibilities. Some additional money will be available to reward elected assemblies which achieve or exceed the targets.

Local Councillors (Anonymous Complaints)

John Cummings: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many anonymous complaints have been made against local government councillors to the Standards Board for England since its inception; how many of these have been investigated; and which councils were involved.

Nick Raynsford: Out of 5,819 allegations received by the Standards Board for England up to January 2004, 14 have been anonymous. Of these, three were referred for investigation. Two of these related to Councillors in Sedgefield borough council and the third to a Councillor in Selatynn and Gobowan Parish Council.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Working Time Directive

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many residents of Crosby have benefited from a reduction of the working week to 48 hours.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Working Time Regulations provide workers with the right not to work more than 48 hours if they want to. Numbers for Crosby are not available, however it has been estimated that around 50,000 workers resident in Merseyside stood to benefit from the introduction of the weekly working time limits in 1998.

Working Time Directive

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the benefits to residents of Crosby of new rights for night-shift workers.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Working Time Regulations limit working time to 48 hours per week averaged over a 17-week reference period. For night workers the limit is eight hours per day on average, including overtime where it is part of a night worker's normal hours of work. There is no opt-out from the night working time limit.
	Night workers are entitled to 11 hours rest between working days, one day's rest per week, and a 20-minute in work rest break if the working period is longer than 6 hours.
	All night workers should be offered a free health assessment before they start working night and thereafter at regular intervals for as long as they are working nights. The health assessments should take account of the nature of the work and the restrictions on a worker's working time under the regulations. Workers who suffer from problems as a result of working at night, should as far as practicable be offered alternative day work.
	All workers are entitled to four weeks paid annual leave. There are no specific data available for night shift workers in Crosby.

Working Time Directive

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many residents of Crosby benefit from the right to four weeks' paid holiday.

Gerry Sutcliffe: All workers resident in Crosby benefit from the right to four weeks paid holiday set out in the Working Time Regulations.

Disciplinary and Grievance Hearings

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many residents of Crosby have benefited from new rights to representation at (a) disciplinary and (b) grievance hearings.

Gerry Sutcliffe: A worker has the right to be accompanied by a fellow worker or trade union official when asked by his or her employer to attend a disciplinary or grievance hearing. There are no estimates of the number of Crosby residents who have exercised this right since it came into force in September 2000.

Employment Rights Advice

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost in 200304 is to her Department of producing, in (a) internet and (b) paper format, advice on individual employment rights.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Figures are not available on the cost of providing advice on individual employment rights on the internet and could not be provided cost-effectively.
	DTI anticipate costs for producing employment rights booklets for 200304 in paper format in the region of 460,000. Acas estimate that it will cost 265,000 for their employment rights publications. This does not include the cost of advice on new or changed rights.

Renewable Energy Initiative

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 8 March 2004, Official Report, column 1285W, on renewable energy, how much the Renewable Energy Initiative has cost to date; and how much is budgeted to be spent in the future.

Stephen Timms: As indicated in my previous answer, the Renewable Energy Initiative focuses on raising awareness. The costs are subsumed within existing administration budgets and are not separately identifiable.
	Once any business is underwritten by ECGD it would be logged as a contingent liability rather than expenditure.

EU Structural Funds

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much funding has been (a) applied for and (b) paid out to each region from European Union Structural Funds to date; and how much it is planned that each region will get in total from these funds.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 12 March 2004
	Details of the amounts of European Structural Funds applied for and paid out to each region since the Funds first became available in the United Kingdom are not kept centrally. Compiling these figures now could be done only disproportionate cost.
	However, I can provide the allocation by region of Structural Funds for the period 200006, which is shown in the following table:
	
		UK Structural Funds AllocationsIncluding Community Initiatives 200006 --  million
		
			 2000 Prices SPDs 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 
		
		
			 Objective 1 
			 Merseyside 808.1 113.3 115.8 118.1 120.3 111.1 113.7 115.8 
			 South Yorkshire 710.6 99.6 101.8 103.9 105.8 97.7 99.9 101.8 
			 Cornwall 301.7 42.3 43.2 44.1 44.9 41.5 42.4 43.2 
			 Total Objective 1 England 1,820.4 255.2 260.9 266.2 266.2 250.3 256.0 260.9 
			 West Wales and The Valleys 1,123.3 157.4 161.0 164.2 167.2 154.5 158.0 161.0 
			 Total Objective 1 2,943.7 412.6 421.8 430.4 438.2 404.8 414.0 421.8 
			  
			 Objective 1 Transitional 
			 Highlands  Islands 187.0 54.0 45.8 37.5 28.5 15.5 5.8  
			 N. Ireland 539.7 155.7 132.3 108.1 82.4 44.6 16.6  
			 Total Objective 1 Trans 726.7 209.7 178.1 145.5 110.9 60.0 22.4  
			  
			 Objective 2 
			 East Midlands 203.1 28.5 29.1 29.7 30.2 27.9 28.6 29.1 
			 East of England 84.0 11.8 12.0 12.3 12.5 11.6 11.8 12.0 
			 London 154.7 21.7 22.2 22.6 23.0 21.3 21.8 22.2 
			 North East 411.1 57.6 58.9 60.1 61.2 56.5 57.8 58.9 
			 North West 392.1 55.0 56.2 57.3 58.4 53.9 55.1 56.2 
			 South East 16.1 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.2 2.3 2.3 
			 West Midlands 437.6 61.3 62.7 64.0 65.1 60.2 61.5 62.7 
			 South West 106.1 14.9 15.2 15.5 15.8 14.6 14.9 15.2 
			 Yorkshire  Humberside 280.7 39.3 40.2 41.0 41.8 38.6 39.5 40.2 
			 Total England 2,085.5 292.3 298.9 304.9 3,10.5 286.8 293.3 298.9 
			 Eastern Scotland 102.1 14.3 14.6 14.9 15.2 14.0 14.4 14.6 
			 South Scotland 43.2 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 5.9 6.1 6.2 
			 Western Scotland 222.7 31.2 31.9 32.6 33.2 30.6 31.3 31.9 
			 Total Scotland 368 51.6 52.7 53.8 54.8 50.6 51.8 52.7 
			 East Wales 49.3 6.9 7.1 7.2 7.3 6.8 6.9 7.1 
			 Gibraltar 5.1 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7 
			 Total Objective 2 2,507.9 351.5 359.4 366.7 373.3 344.9 352.7 359.4 
			  
			 Objective 2 Transitional 
			 East Midlands 25.1 7.2 6.2 5.0 3.8 2.1 0.8  
			 East of England 10.8 3.1 2.6 2.2 1.6 0.9 0.3  
			 London 2.8 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.1  
			 North East 23.4 6.8 5.7 4.7 3.6 1.9 0.7  
			 North West 97.8 28.2 24.0 19.6 14.9 8.1 3.0  
			 South East 5.5 1.6 1.3 1.1 0.8 0.5 0.2  
			 West Midlands 80.1 23.1 19.6 16.0 12.2 6.6 2.5  
			 South West 8.9 2.6 2.2 1.8 1.4 0.7 0.3  
			 Yorkshire  Humberside 33.1 9.5 8.1 6.6 5.1 2.7 1.0  
			 Total England Objective 2 Transitional 287.5 82.9 70.5 57.6 43.9 23.8 8.9  
			  
			 Eastern Scotland 49.7 14.3 12.2 10.0 7.6 4.1 1.5  
			 South Scotland 1.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.0  
			 Western Scotland 70.2 20.3 17.2 14.1 10.7 5.8 2.2  
			 Total Scotland Objective 2 Trans 1,21.1 34.9 29.7 24.3 18.5 10.0 3.7  
			 East Wales 24.1 7.0 5.9 4.8 3.7 2.0 0.7  
			 Total Objective 2 Trans 4,32.7 124.8 106.1 86.7 66.1 35.8 13.3  
			  
			 Objective 3 
			 East Midlands 167.9 23.5 24.1 24.5 25.0 23.1 23.6 24.1 
			 East of England 175.7 24.6 25.2 25.7 26.2 24.2 24.7 25.2 
			 London 383.9 53.8 55.0 56.1 57.1 52.8 54.0 55.0 
			 North East 184.0 25.8 26.4 26.9 27.4 25.3 25.9 26.4 
			 North West 236.2 33.1 33.8 34.5 35.2 32.5 33.2 33.8 
			 South East 215.3 30.2 30.9 31.5 32.1 29.6 30.3 30.9 
			 West Midlands 272.2 38.2 39.0 39.8 40.5 37.4 38.3 39.0 
			 South West 128.7 18.0 18.4 18.8 19.2 17.7 18.1 18.4 
			 Yorkshire  Humberside 175.4 24.6 25.1 25.6 26.1 24.1 24.7 25.1 
			 Central Funding 498.4 69.9 71.4 72.9 74.2 68.5 70.1 71.4 
			 Technical Assistance 49.8 7.0 7.1 7.3 7.4 6.8 7.0 7.1 
			 Total England 2,487.5 348.7 356.5 363.7 3703 342.0 349.9 356.5 
			 Total Scotland 302.7 42.4 43.4 44.3 45.1 41.6 42.6 43.4 
			 East Wales 74.4 10.4 10.7 10.9 11.1 10.2 10.5 10.7 
			 Gibraltar 4.2 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 
			 Total Objective 3 2,868.8 402.1 411.1 419.4 427.1 394.5 403.5 411.1 
			  
			 England 6,680.9 979.1 986.7 992.3 995.6 902.9 908.1 916.2 
			 Wales 1271.1 181.7 184.6 187.1 189.3 173.5 176.1 178.7 
			 Scotland 978.8 182.9 171.6 159.8 146.9 117.7 103.8 96.1 
			 Ireland 539.7 155.7 132.3 108.1 82.4 44.6 16.6 0.0 
			 Gibraltar 9.3 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3 
			 Total 9,479.8 1,500.7 1,476.5 1,448.7 1,415.6 1,239.9 1,206.0 1,192.4 
			  
			 Community Initiatives 
			 Leader + 68.3
			 Interreg III 233.1
			 Equal 227.9
			 Urban 75.3
			 Total CIs 604.6

Israel

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the value in each of the last five years of (a) EU exports to Israel and (b) Israeli exports to the EU.

Mike O'Brien: Data on the EU's trade with Israel are given in the following table.
	
		EU15 countries trade in goods with Israel 19982002 --  million
		
			  EU exports to Israel EU imports from Israel 
		
		
			  
			  
			 1998 7,360 4,677 
			 1999 8,464 5,032 
			 2000 9,662 6,071 
			 2001 8,984 5,945 
			 2002 8,444 5,373 
		
	
	Source:
	Eurostat Intra and Extra EU Trade

Manufacturing

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the levels of (a) manufacturing output and (b) employment in the manufacturing sector were in (i) Greater London and (ii) each London borough in each of the last five years.

Ruth Kelly: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Simon Hughes dated 15 March 2004
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on levels of (a) manufacturing output and (b) employment in the manufacturing sector in (i) Greater London and (ii) each London Borough in each of the last five years. I am replying in his absence. (158452)
	The information given in the attached tables on employment and Gross Value Added (GVA) in the manufacturing sector is taken from the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI). Data on GVA are provided from 1998 to 2001, the most recent year for which estimates are available. Data on employment are provided from 1998 to 2002, although estimates for 2002 are provisional. Data have not been supplied prior to 1998 since this was the first year in which the ABI was carried out; 1997 data would be from a different data collection exercise and would therefore not be comparable.The Annual Business Inquiry samples businesses on a national level stratified by country (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) as well as by industrial classification and size band. Outputs are primarily produced at national level, with sub-national outputs (as shown in the tables) produced subsequently using a regression model to apportion the data to local units. All sub-national data should therefore be treated with caution. This particularly applies to borough-level data since small area estimates have greater sampling and modelling uncertainty.
	Approximate Gross Value Added represents the income generated by businesses, encompassing wages and salaries, the cost of capital investment and financial charges, and profit. It includes taxes on production (e.g. business rates) net of subsidies but excludes subsidies and taxes on products (e.g. VAT and excise duty). The estimates shown are at current prices and hence are not adjusted for inflation The estimates for the number of employees by area are based on the location of the employing company, but it must be emphasised that they are derived from a regression model and are not actual counts of employees.
	
		Gross Value Added (GVA)(6) at current(7) basic prices by the manufacturing sector(8) in Greater London and in London boroughs, 19982001 --  million
		
			  
		
		
			  
			   Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices 
			 Area 1998 1999 2000 2001 
			  
			 Greater London 13404.4 14274.8 13050.1 13606.2 
			 London Boroughs 
			 Barking and Dagenham 1179.7 838.2 372.3 381.5 
			 Barnet 150.8 153.8 132.6 147.5 
			 Bexley 329.1 400.2 329.4 446.0 
			 Brent 588.9 551.7 500.7 527.9 
			 Bromley 194.9 206.2 183.0 262.7 
			 Camden 598.1 665.2 702.8 700.1 
			 City of London 212.0 174.5 188.7 167.5 
			 Croydon 378.6 431.4 378.5 336.2 
			 Ealing 618.0 846.3 797.1 1155.5 
			 Enfield 479.8 487.3 410.6 404.5 
			 Greenwich 425.1 388.5 483.9 244.6 
			 Hackney 346.0 321.4 276.8 277.9 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 280.0 351.0 460.8 518.9 
			 Haringey 264.2 265.4 214.9 223.8 
			 Harrow 435.5 691.4 305.6 203.1 
			 Havering 234.9 270.4 208.8 230.9 
			 Hillingdon 607.6 727.1 726.0 1070.9 
			 Hounslow 526.1 481.7 611.6 470.1 
			 Islington 419.7 475.6 476.2 520.8 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 337.9 316.3 285.5 295.1 
			 Kingston upon Thames 222.8 242.4 265.0 271.2 
			 Lambeth 152.0 159.0 149.2 159.5 
			 Lewisham 99.3 112.4 107.1 127.3 
			 Merton 318.4 462.7 292.6 307.6 
			 Newham 288.9 434.3 303.1 331.8 
			 Redbridge 159.0 171.0 163.2 161.2 
			 Richmond upon Thames 185.5 275.6 291.5 244.8 
			 Southwark 614.6 746.7 814.9 669.7 
			 Sutton 202.4 238.0 218.4 253.4 
			 Tower Hamlets 1129.1 948.7 1128.1 1062.1 
			 Waltham Forest 251.9 281.9 242.9 230.8 
			 Wandsworth 181.1 181.0 189.4 199.4 
			 Westminster 992.5 977.8 839.0 1001.9 
		
	
	Source:
	ONS Annual Business Inquiry
	(6) Gross Value Added (GVA) was used as the most appropriate measure of manufacturing output as it excludes intermediate consumption that could lead to double counting
	(7) Current price estimates are not adjusted to take account of inflation
	(8) The data provided are for the manufacturing sector defined as sector D (Manufacturing) in the Standard Industrial Classification 1992 (SIC92)

Employment

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many manufacturing jobs have been lost so far in 2004 in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.

Jacqui Smith: Estimates of the change in the number of workforce jobs in manufacturing are not yet available for 2004. The Office for National Statistics will publish workforce jobs estimates for March 2004 for manufacturing by region in July 2004.

Mark Gilbert Morse Solicitors

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many chronic obstructive pulmonary disease claims have been settled with her Department by Mark Gilbert Morse Solicitors of Newcastle.

Nigel Griffiths: As of 31 January 2004 the Department had settled 5,227 claims with Mark Gilbert Morse solicitors.

Maternity Leave

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many and what percentage of women in Crosby have taken 26 weeks maternity leave since 1997.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Take-up of maternity leave is not recorded centrally. It is possible to make an estimate of the numbers of women taking maternity leave based on employer returns to Inland Revenue for payment of Statutory Maternity Pay (since 2003 this has covered the first 26 weeks of leave). However, figures for the take-up of SMP are not available on a regional basis.
	In addition, there will be some women who will qualify for maternity leave but not SMP (because they do not meet the earnings criteria) and similarly some who qualify for SMP but not leave (because they are employed earners for the purposes of SMP but not employees in order to qualify for leave).

Miners' Compensation

Denis Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much compensation has been paid to claimants in the Wansbeck constituency for (a) vibration white finger and (b) chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

Nigel Griffiths: Figures as of 31 January 2004 are:
	
		 million
		
			  Total amount paid 
		
		
			 Respiratory disease 11.9  
			 Vibration white finger (VWF) 26.7 
		
	
	Constituency figures can be found on the DTI website www.dti.gov.uk/coalhealth. The information is compiled in the middle of the month and shows the figures for the end of the previous month.

Miners' Compensation

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many mining compensation claims have reached full and final settlement using the interim pensions spreadsheet.

Nigel Griffiths: As at 7 March 2004, 23,438 respiratory disease claims had received a full and final settlement in respect of pension loss. The Department does not distinguish between claims settled using the pension calculator and claims settled using the pension loss speadsheet. However, claimants who accept a pension loss payment using the spreadsheet have the option of accepting that payment in full and final settlement of pension loss, or accepting that payment as an interim award and claiming a top-up payment if appropriate once the pension calculator has been finalised.

Miners' Compensation

Denis Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many claims have been received for chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

Nigel Griffiths: As of 29 February 2004, the Department had received nearly 463,000 claims for respiratory disease.

Nuclear Industry

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions her Department has had about the future of nuclear power generation in the UK.

Stephen Timms: The Department has many discussions with the nuclear industry and with other interested groups, in some of which the future of nuclear power generation in the UK has been raised. The Government's policy on new nuclear build remains as set out in the Energy White Paper.

Nuclear Industry

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much revenue has been received by BNFL for dealing with imported nuclear waste; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The UK does not import nuclear waste.
	As far as spent nuclear fuel is concerned, THORP's order book amounts to some 12 billion. Details of payments for BNFL's reprocessing services are commercial matters for BNFL and its customers.

Nuclear Industry

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with (a) the Scottish Executive and (b) Members of the Scottish Parliament about the future management of Scotland's nuclear waste.

Stephen Timms: There is regular contact between my Department and the Scottish Executive on a range of issues relating to radioactive waste management policy.

Nuclear Industry

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what provision will be made in the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's Segregated Account for the very long-term management of radioactive waste.

Stephen Timms: The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) will be a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) financed by the Government in the usual way.
	The Nuclear Decommissioning Funding Account (NDFA) will record all the income and expenditure associated with the discharge of the NDA's responsibilities as set out in the Energy Bill and be maintained at a sufficient level to support NDA activity over the long-term. This includes securing the treatment, storage, transportation and disposal of radioactive waste.

Skills Base

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her assessment is of employers' demand for employees with (a) high, (b) intermediate and (c) lower level qualifications, broken down as a percentage of the UK workforce.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I refer to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State's reply to the hon. Member's Question No. 155288 answered on 24 February, Official Report, column 396W, which set out how we seek to understand and raise employer demand for skills by working with the Sector Skills Development Agency and the Skills for Business Network to ensure that employers have the skills they require both now and in the future.
	My right hon. Friend Secretary of State for Education and Skills may be able to offer further evidence on demand for qualifications but I refer you to the publication Skills in England2002 and the following table 6.11 gives the projected change in employment by qualifications from 1999 to 2010.
	
		Table 6.11 Projected Employment by Qualification, 19992010
		
			  Level 5 Level 4 Level 3 
			 Region 1999 (Thousand) Percentage ch. 1999 (Thousand) Per cent. ch. 1999 (Thousand) Percentage. ch. 
		
		
			 London 328 36.9 1,123 42.4 615 -1.0 
			 South East 173 34.1 866 38.9 750 14.1 
			 East of England 100 34.0 468 38.5 445 8.8 
			 South West 92 33.7 499 33.1 440 13.6 
			 West Midlands 86 19.8 438 30.1 433 4.4 
			 East Midlands 59 30.5 344 30.8 387 5.4 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 86 20.9 436 26.2 402 6.7 
			 North West 107 29.0 603 28.2 586 2.7 
			 North East 29 20.7 184 22.8 204 0.5 
			 United Kingdom 1,237 30.8 5,864 33.2 5,099 5.4 
		
	
	
		Table 6.11 Projected Employment by Qualification, 19992010
		
			  Level 2 Level 1 No qualifications 
			  1999 (Thousand) (Percentage) ch. 1999 (Thousand) Percentage ch. 1999 (Thousand) Percentage ch. 
		
		
			 London 834 -9.7 802 -8.4 433 -25.4 
			 South East 906 2.1 844 10.9 405 -17.8 
			 East of England 592 5.1 564 9.6 271 -10.3 
			 South West 533 4.1 511 12.9 236 -30.9 
			 West Midlands 558 -0.7 541 10.2 390 -41.3 
			 East Midlands 410 0.7 433 13.6 262 -26.0 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 496 -2.0 505 13.9 307 -25.4 
			 North West 683 -1.8 618 7.6 383 -36.0 
			 North East 237 0.0 230 11.3 141 -34.0 
			 United Kingdom 6,172 -0.9 5,778 8.2 3,388 -26.5 
		
	
	Note
	Level 2 and below are regarded as lower level qualifications, Level 3/4 (e.g. A'levels and HNDs) as intermediate qualifications and Level 4 (degrees)/level 5 (higher degrees) as higher level qualifications
	Source
	Wilson (200Ib) Table 14, Page 19.

Small Business

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her estimate is of the (a) number and (b) economic input of small businesses employing fewer than 10 people in the United Kingdom in the last year for which figures are available.

Nigel Griffiths: At the start of 2002 there were an estimated 3,596,855 businesses in the private sector (including public corporations and nationalised bodies) in the United Kingdom employing fewer than 10 people. This was 95 per cent. of the total number of UK private sector businesses.
	These businesses employing fewer than 10 people had an estimated combined turnover of 482,984 million. This was 22 per cent. of the total turnover in UK private sector businesses.
	These are the latest figures available.

EU Telecoms Council

Jimmy Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the outcome was of the Telecommunications Council held on 8 March; what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: I attended the Telecoms Council held on 8 March 2004 in Brussels. There was a round-table debate on the state of the telecoms sector, in particular on two areas for action by governments; the transposition of the new regulatory framework and implementing national broadband strategies. There was broad consensus that the sector was recovering, that compelling content would be key in driving take-up of broadband and that e-Government was important as driver and exemplar in services. The rollout of broadband in under served areas was also discussed, including the importance of applying structural funding in a technology-neutral, market-led and competition-based way.
	I pointed out that in the face of increasingly stiffer international competition it was vital for the EU to make the most of its competitive edge from creating the largest single coherent telecoms market by implementing the new regulatory package in a timely, consistent and effective way. I emphasised the need for a vision and specific planning beyond 2005 to meet the Lisbon goal by 2010 of Europe becoming the world's knowledge-based leader. To achieve this, I stressed the importance of intensifying dialogue with industry across the whole value chain. The Presidency will submit the Conclusions of this Council discussion to the Spring European Council on 2526 March.
	The Presidency will also submit to the Spring European Council the Council Conclusions on the following items, which were agreed without substantial debate; the e-Europe 2005 Mid-Term, unsolicited communications for direct marketing purposes, or spam and on the following-up to the World Summit on the Information Society.

Ukraine

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she (a) has had and (b) plans with the government of Ukraine concerning opportunities to sell Ukrainian products within the European Union; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has had no recent discussions with members of the Ukraine Government concerning opportunities to sell their products within the European Union. However my right hon. Friend, Minister of State for Industry and the Regions, met with Valery Khoroshivskiy, Minister for Economy and European Integration, Ukraine, on 15 September 2003, and discussed a number of issues including trade.
	EU relations with Ukraine are to a large extent based on the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement, which entered into force in 1998. The agreement regulates the political, economic and cultural relations between the EU and Ukraine and is the current legal basis for the EU's bilateral trade with Ukraine.

Unfair Dismissal Compensation

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many residents of Crosby have benefited from the increase in unfair dismissal compensation to 50,000.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I regret that I am unable to provide any statistics for the Crosby area. However, in common with the rest of Great Britain, all Crosby residents have had the potential to benefit from the increase in unfair dismissal compensation in the appropriate circumstances.

Welsh Manufacturing Exports

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much revenue has been generated from exports of goods manufactured in Wales in each year since 1997.

Mike O'Brien: According to figures published by HM Customs and Excise the information is as follows:
	
		Welsh exports of goods 1997 to 2002 --  million
		
			  Amount 
		
		
			 1997 5,764 
			 1998 5,805 
			 1999 6,312 
			 2000 7,172 
			 2001 7,099 
			 2002 6,619 
		
	
	Source
	HM Customs and Excise

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Behavioural Problems

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance the Government provide to children and their families seeking assistance from local authority social services departments to address children's behavioural problems in the home.

Margaret Hodge: Under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, local authorities are expected to provide a range of services that are appropriate to safeguard and provide welfare for children in need in their area.
	Once a child, who is or who may be a child in need, has been referred to social services, the responsible local authority is expected to assess the child using the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and Their Families (2000). Following that assessment, the local authority should then determine what services or support are needed, including those that may be provided by the local authority. For children with behavioural problems, the local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) team may be identified as an appropriate way to assist the child.

Best Practice Research Scholarships

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost was of the school-based research programme on best practice; what the outputs were of this programme; and to what use they were put.

David Miliband: The Department has invested 8.03 million in the Best Practice Research Scholarships programme since it began in May 2000.
	The scholarships have enabled over 4,000 teachers to engage in supported, school-focused research to develop their professional knowledge, understanding and confidence, enhance their skills as practitioners and share effective practice and experience within their own schools and across the wider educational community.
	Details of research undertaken so far can be found on the Teachernet website, at the following address: www.teachernet.gov.uk/professionaldevelopment/opportunities/bprs/search

Chesterfield High School, Sefton

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been made available to Chesterfield High School in Sefton for developing sporting facilities since 1997; how the funding has been spent; and what (a) capital and (b) revenue schemes are pending.

David Miliband: holding answer 9 March 2004
	Upon designation as a specialist Sports College in September 2000, Chesterfield High School received a capital grant of 100,000. The school also receives recurrent annual funding based on pupil numbers to meet the costs of implementing the specialist school development plan. This is currently around 145,000 per year, of which the school is required to spend at least one third on the community element of the development plan.
	The school is also receiving an award of a total of 314,328 over three years as a result of a successful School Sport partnership bid, to support the infrastructure and funding for a Partnership Development Manager. A further award to extend the Central Sefton School Sport Partnership has also been confirmed. This will mean total funding of 616,866 over three years from September 2004.
	Chesterfield High School is also part of a New Opportunities Fund application by Sefton LEA. If formally approved, the funding will be used to enhance changing facilities at the school.

Chesterfield High School, Sefton

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the schools that have used the sports facilities in the Chesterfield High School Specialist Sports College in Sefton since the school was awarded specialist status; and for what percentage of the total time available the facilities have been used by this group of schools.

David Miliband: holding answer 9 March 2004
	Chesterfield High School currently works with four partner secondary schools (St. Wilfrid's Catholic High School, Savio High School, Bootle High School, and Manor High School) and 20 primary schools. Sports facilities are made available to these schools as part of Chesterfield High School's specialist school community development plan and its School Sport partnership plan. The DfES does not hold data centrally about the amount of time their facilities are used by these schools.

Chesterfield High School, Sefton

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how schools in Sefton access the facilities of Chesterfield High School; and what steps are being taken to make the facilities better known to groups that have right of access.

David Miliband: holding answer 9 March 2004
	Schools in Sefton access facilities at Chesterfield High School as part of the specialist school community plan, the School Sport partnership programme, and local administrative arrangements. A Community Sport Development Officer has been appointed to help with this process.

Chesterfield High School, Sefton

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what charges are levied on schools that use the Chesterfield High School Specialist Sports College in Sefton.

David Miliband: holding answer 9 March 2004
	Schools are not charged for using facilities at Chesterfield High School during the school day. At evenings and weekends charging is in line with the local authority's charging policy.

Chesterfield High School, Sefton

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what facilities and services at Chesterfield High School in Sefton are available to members of the public; what mechanisms are used to inform the public about the facilities and service available; whether facilities are available to (a) individual members of the public and (b) sporting groups; and on what basis in each case.

David Miliband: holding answer 9 March 2004
	Management of sports facilities at Chesterfield High School has recently transferred from the local authority to the school. At present, facilities are open to the public seven days a week under a lettings arrangement, with some exceptions during examination periods. A range of sporting groups including a number of football and badminton clubs and the Merseyside County Netball Association currently use facilities at the school, and the school runs activities during school holidays. Precise details of the future availability of facilities and the mechanisms used to inform the public will be decided locally as part of the transition, by the school, its partners, and the local authority.

Computers within Reach Programme

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) teachers and (b) families in Crosby have benefited from the Computers within Reach programme.

Charles Clarke: The Computers Within Reach scheme closed on 31 October 2001 having delivered over 24,000 recycled computers to people in 22 pilot areas, at a cost of 7.1 million over two years. Those eligible were in receipt of certain working age benefits or a state pension with minimum income guarantee.
	At the same time as funding was made available for the Computers within Reach scheme, funding was also provided for the Computers for Teachers programme. For teachers who met certain criteria, this programme subsidised the cost of a computer. It was subsequently replaced by the current Laptops for Teachers scheme which dispensed with subsidies, and through which sufficient funding will be provided to enable two thirds of teachers to receive a laptop by March 2006.
	Of the 24,000 computers delivered through the Computers within Reach scheme, approximately 3,000 were for people in the Liverpool area which included those in and around Crosby.

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what amount of money has been spent on voluntary and community services by each Connexions partnership since 2001.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 12 March 2004
	The amount spent on voluntary and community services by each Connexions Partnership is collected via management accounts which are commercially confidential. The total amount spent by Partnerships on the voluntary and community sector in each year is as follows:
	
		
			   million 
		
		
			  
			  
			 200102 2.6 
			 200203 10.1 
			 200304 (9)16.0 
		
	
	(9) Based on latest data to December 2003.

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total budget is of Connexions Direct in 200304.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 12 March 2004
	The total budget of Connexions Direct, a telephone helpline and internet service for 1319 year olds, is 3.36 million for 200304.

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) personal advisers and (b) staff are employed by Connexions Direct.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 12 March 2004
	40 Connexions Direct advisers (28.3 Full Time Equivalent) and seven managerial and support staff (6.75 Full Time Equivalent) are employed by Connexions Direct. Separately, three staff are employed by the contractor (Ufl) in a management role.

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether it is his Department's policy to make local authorities act as lead bodies for the receipt of Connexions partnerships grants; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: It is not our policy to compel Connexions partnerships to adopt any particular arrangements for the receipt of Connexions grant. However we are encouraging partnerships to improve their tax efficiency. Connexions partnerships which have a local authority acting as a lead body are more tax efficient than other structural models. Where local authorities act as the lead body for receipt of the grant they do so voluntarily and with the agreement of the Board of the Connexions Partnership.

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which is the lead body for receipt of grant for the London Central Connexions Partnership.

Margaret Hodge: The Royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea is the lead body for receipt of the grant for the London Central Connexions Partnership.

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of the total Connexions budget in 200304 is spent on providing careers guidance.

Margaret Hodge: Details of the amount spent by Connexions partnerships on providing careers guidance are not collected. We provide broad guidance to partnerships about their statutory duties and it is for them to decide how best to meet the needs of their area.

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total budget was of the Careers Service, prior to the establishment of the Connexions Service, in each year since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: Total annual expenditure on the Careers Service from 1998 onwards was as follows:
	
		
			   million 
		
		
			  
			  
			 199899 (10)198 
			 19992000 228 
			 200001 239 
			 200102 174 
			 200203 52 
		
	
	(10) Estimated
	Data for the years prior to 199899 are not available. Decreasing expenditure from 200102 reflects the gradual introduction of the Connexions service across England.

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of Connexions partnerships' VAT liability his Department will meet in 200405.

Margaret Hodge: Based on estimated VAT costs provided by Connexions Partnerships, we will be able to meet around 30 per cent. of these costs in 200405.

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools (a) have a Connexions resource centre, (b) are being fitted with a Connexions resource centre and (c) have no Connexions resource centre in each Connexions partnership area.

Margaret Hodge: My department does not collect information on the number of Connexions resource centres in schools.
	In our guidance to Partnerships we require them to use part of their grant to provide financial support for setting up and maintaining Connexions resource centres in schools. Connexions Partnerships are responsible for ensuring that this requirement is met.

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidelines are provided for the staffing of Connexions resource centres in schools.

Margaret Hodge: No specific guidelines have been issued to Connexions Partnerships in relation to the staffing of Connexions resource centres in schools.

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the proportion of parents who have been aware of the services offered by Connexions in each Connexions partnership area in each year since 2001.

Margaret Hodge: Information on the proportion of parents who are aware of the services offered by Connexions is not collected centrally.
	Publicity campaigns and selected publications, including the recently published Parents and Carers of Year 9 Students' booklet, are raising awareness of Connexions among parents. Connexions partnerships supplement nationally produced publicity material with their own publications targeted at young people, parents and carers.

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidelines are given to Connexions partnerships regarding the monitoring and supervision of personal advisers who are working towards an NVQ level 4 equivalent in a relevant professional discipline.

Margaret Hodge: All Connexions partnerships are required to have a clear, written supervision policy; a training and development policy; and appropriate processes in place to support them. In line with these policies, individual partnerships assess the level of supervision required for personal advisers depending on their level of experience, and their duties.

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how long a young person has had to wait on average to speak to a Connexions personal adviser in each Connexions partnership; and what the target waiting time is for a young person to talk to a Connexions personal adviser in person.

Margaret Hodge: Information on how long a young person has to wait to see a Connexions personal adviser is not collected centrally.
	Connexions Partnerships are required to publish a Youth Charter, prepared in collaboration with young people, which sets out minimum standards for accessing personal advisers, including outside normal office hours. In addition, from April 2004, Connexions Direct the telephone and web based help line, will be available nationally to all young people 18 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many under-18 conceptions there were in each of the Connexions partnership areas in each year since 2001.

Margaret Hodge: The numbers of under-18 conceptions in each Connexions partnership area for 2001 and 2002, the latest years for which this information is available, are set out in the table. It must be noted that this data predates the launch of the majority of Connexions Partnerships.
	The figures for 2001 and 2002 are provisional. They are taken from National Statistics, 'Conception statistics for local authorities 19982002'. Data should be considered in light of increases in population between 2001 and 2002.
	
		
			 Partnerships 2001(11) 2002(12) 
		
		
			 Bedfordshire and Luton 413 430 
			 Berkshire 510 513 
			 Birmingham and Solihull 1,198 1,176 
			 Black Country 1,219 1,248 
			 Bournemouth Dorset and Poole 416 382 
			 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 469 465 
			 Central London 1,350 1,418 
			 Cheshire and Warrington 544 590 
			 County Durham 398 468 
			 Coventry and Warwickshire 702 709 
			 Cumbria 315 323 
			 Derbyshire 676 648 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1,019 1,074 
			 East London 2,091 2,093 
			 Essex Southend and Thurrock 1,019 1,048 
			 Gloucestershire 387 371 
			 Greater Manchester 2,549 2,507 
			 Greater Merseyside 1,394 1,362 
			 Herefordshire and Worcestershire 440 485 
			 Hertfordshire 547 565 
			 Humber 869 864 
			 Kent and Medway 1,218 1,180 
			 Lancashire 1,218 1,324 
			 Leicestershire 588 594 
			 Lincolnshire and Rutland 494 471 
			 Milton Keynes Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire 761 790 
			 Norfolk 509 497 
			 North London 889 1,019 
			 Northamptonshire 507 552 
			 Northumberland 215 238 
			 Nottinghamshire 811 897 
			 Shropshire Telford and Wrekin 358 331 
			 Somerset 300 322 
			 South Central 1,218 1,192 
			 South London 851 904 
			 South Yorkshire 1,258 1,312 
			 Staffordshire 842 892 
			 Suffolk 351 402 
			 Surrey 485 466 
			 Sussex 830 887 
			 Tees Valley 703 720 
			 Tyne and Wear 1,073 1,132 
			 West London 1,020 1,070 
			 West of England 682 610 
			 West Yorkshire 1,886 1,901 
			 Wiltshire and Swindon 426 401 
			 York and North Yorkshire 421 443 
		
	
	(11) Conceptions for 2001 are provisional.
	(12) Provisional estimates based on incomplete abortions data.

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the level of awareness of the Connexions service among those young people not in education, employment or training.

Margaret Hodge: A survey of over 16,000 young people by my Department in 2003 showed that 93 per cent. of young people in need of intensive support, including those who were not in education, employment or training, were aware of the Connexions Service.

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the proportion of careers guidance provided by the private sector.

Margaret Hodge: 21 out of the 47 Connexions partnerships operate a subcontracted delivery model, where private companies deliver the Connexions service, including careers advice and guidance, to young people in that Partnership area.

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to reduce the running costs of the Connexions service in 200405; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 1 March 2004
	There are no plans to reduce the grant to Connexions Partnerships in 200405. In addition to the grant, we had set aside funds to support Connexions Partnerships' VAT commitments on a temporary basis. In 200405, this will be less than had been originally planned but will still amount to some 12 million.

Education Funding

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much money was spent on education in England (a) in total and (b) per pupil for each of the last five years.

David Miliband: I refer the hon. Member to the Department's Departmental Report 2003, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.

Education Funding

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in Crosby have benefited from the Excellence in Cities programme; and what the per pupil spending was in each year since the programme's inception.

David Miliband: Chesterfield High School, Manor High School and Sacred Heart Catholic High School in Crosby have been included in Excellence in Cities since September 2001. The following table shows the number of children in Crosby benefiting, and the annual spend per pupil for the years in question.
	
		Crosby excellence in cities programme
		
			  Number of children Total EiC expenditure Spend per pupil () 
		
		
			 200102 3,524 208,846 59.26 
			 200203 3,531 453,655 128.48 
			 200304 3,629 497,246 137.02 
		
	
	EiC funding includes Leadership Incentive Grant and Behaviour Improvement Programme money. In addition, Manor High School also receives some funding from the Statutory Education Action Zone.

Education Funding

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much money has been allocated to schools in Crosby for information and communications technologies since 2001.

Charles Clarke: My Department does not hold information on funding allocations for ICT at town level. However, Crosby is in Sefton local education authority and since 2001, including LEA match funding, schools in Sefton have received 5,167,125.

Education Funding

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much public funding has been spent on computers for schools in Crosby in each of the last seven years.

Charles Clarke: My Department does not hold information on funding allocations for ICT at town level. However, Crosby is in Sefton local education authority and, including match funding, allocations for the LEA are as follows:
	
		
			  Allocation to Sefton LEA () 
		
		
			 199899(13) 587,146 
			 19992000 813,934 
			 200001 955,931 
			 200102 1,350,818 
			 200203 1,890,315 
			 200304 1,925,992 
		
	
	(13) Specific funding for ICT in schools was not available in 199798.

Opportunity Bursaries

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students in Crosby have benefited from New Opportunity bursaries.

Alan Johnson: Information about Opportunity Bursaries is held at the level of institutions that provide higher education provision. It is not possible to extract from that data the number of awards for students in any given area.

Education Standards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of pupils in Crosby reached the (a) mathematics and (b) English standard in each of the last seven years.

David Miliband: The results from the 2003 National Curriculum tests showed that 75 per cent. of 11 year olds in England reached Level 4 in English and 73 per cent. in mathematics. These results represent a significant improvement in standardsof 12 per cent. points in English and 11 per cent. points in mathematicssince 1997, reflecting the impact of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies on primary schools. We remain absolutely committed, through our new Primary Strategy, to supporting schools to achieve the ambitious targets we have set for standards of literacy and numeracy.
	The following table shows the number and percentage of pupils in Crosby who have achieved level 4 or above in the Key Stage 2 English and mathematics tests since 1997. The results for Crosby are well above the national average, with improvements since 1997 in English and 1998 in mathematics in line with the improvement in the national figures:
	
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 EnglishNumber of pupils(14) 703 721 779 787 789 833 823 
			 MathematicsNumber of pupils(14) 729 677 785 746 755 826 822 
			 EnglishPercentage of pupils 77 80 83 85 84 85 86 
			 MathematicsPercentage of pupils 80 75 84 80 80 84 86 
		
	
	(14) The number of eligible pupils for the Key Stage 2 tests varies slightly from year to year.

Education Standards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of 11 year old pupils in Crosby reached level four in (a) mathematics and (b) English in each of the last seven years.

David Miliband: The percentage and number of pupils in Crosby who reached Level 4 or above at Key Stage 2 in (a) mathematics and (b) English in the last seven years are:
	
		
			  Mathematics English 
			  Crosby(15) Crosby(16) England(16) Crosby(15) Crosby(16) England(16) 
		
		
			 2003(17) 822 86 73 823 86 75 
			 2002 826 84 73 833 84 75 
			 2001 755 80 71 789 84 75 
			 2000 746 80 72 787 85 75 
			 1999 785 84 69 779 83 71 
			 1998 677 75 59 721 80 65 
			 1997 729 80 62 703 77 63 
		
	
	(15) Number of pupils achieving level 4+.
	(16) Percentage of pupils achieving level 4+.
	(17) Provisional.

Education Standards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of 15 and 16-year-olds in Crosby achieved five or more GCSEs at grade A*-C or GNVQ equivalent in each of the last seven years.

David Miliband: The statistical information requested is detailed in the following table:
	
		Percentage of 15-year-old pupils(18) achieving five or more grades A*-C
		
			 Academic year Crosby parliamentary constituency England 
		
		
			 1997 47.9 45.1 
			 1998 49.5 46.3 
			 1999 55.2 47.9 
			 2000 57.5 49.2 
			 2001 57.2 50.0 
			 2002 57.0 51.6 
			 2003 55.0 52.9 
		
	
	(18) Pupils are aged 15 at the start of the academic year, i.e. 31 August.

Education Standards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in Crosby deemed to be failing since 1997 have since reached satisfactory standards.

David Miliband: No schools in Crosby have been found to be failing since 1997.

Educational Databases

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether information collected by the Connexions Service can be matched with the National Pupil Database at pupil level; and whether the two databases can be used to produce information matching the later destinations of young people with their achievements on National Curriculum Tests, secondary school they attended and other pupil characteristics.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 1 March 2004
	Information collected by the Connexions Service cannot be accurately matched with data held by the National Pupil Database.
	Currently there is no national Connexions Service database as in the case of the National Pupil Database and without a commonly agreed identifier, linking records to the 47 different partnership databases would be extremely difficult.
	However, as part of work to improve systems for young people and learners as well as providers, my Department is currently exploring the feasibility of establishing systems which would enable information held by different organisations to be shared and analysed more effectively. The results of the feasibility work should be available in the summer.

Homeless Young People

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) financial and (b) other support services are available to a young person between 16 and 18-years-old who has been refused a home by his or her family but has not been made ward of court.

Margaret Hodge: The information is as follows.
	Financial assistance available to 16 to 18-year-olds
	Financial assistance is available to young people aged 16 or over but under 19, who are undertaking full time non-advanced education, and out of necessity have to live away from their parents or any person acting as their parents because:
	They are estranged from their parents or that person(s) acting as their parents
	They are in physical or moral danger: or
	There is a serious risk to his physical or mental health.
	They have ceased to live in accommodation provided for them by a local authority (Part III of the Children Act 1989) and are living away from their parents or persons acting as their parents
	Their parent is unable to financially support them and are either chronically sick, mentally ill, detained in custody or prevented from entering or re-entering Great Britain they will be entitled to income support.
	The rule is that young people must be in full time non-advanced education. If they are not and do not satisfy any other condition of entitlement, they must claim job seekers allowance if they need benefit.
	Other support service provision for 16 to 17-year-olds
	Local authority social service departments have a range of powers and duties under the Children Act 1989 to provide services for children in need (0 to 18-years-old) in their area.
	A general duty is placed on local authorities by section 17 of the Children Act 1989 to safeguard and promote the welfare of children under 18 in their area who are in need by providing a range of services appropriate to meeting those needs. The definition of a child in need is set out in section 17(10) of the Act, which applies to all children, regardless of whether or not they reside with their family.
	There is also a duty under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 to provide accommodation for children in need if necessary.

Special Educational Needs

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of outreach programmes carried out by moderate learning difficulty schools in mainstream secondary and primary schools; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The Department for Education and Skills has not conducted an assessment of special school outreach programmes which support pupils with moderate learning difficulties based in mainstream schools. Ofsted has responsibility for school inspections, including an assessment of any support that schools offer to other schools. In his annual report for 200203, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools noted that 'good support is provided by the special schools for pupils attending mainstream schools and colleges and this contributes significantly to the quality of the programmes. A small number of schools also provide outreach support and advice to staff in mainstream schools. However, the role of special schools in this respect is weak and developing slowly.'
	The Government's new SEN StrategyRemoving Barriers to Achievementlaunched in February 2004, encourages special schools to do more to share their expertise with mainstream schools in support of greater inclusion. While there is clearly scope for them to develop this aspect of their role, it is important that the quality of advice and support they offer is of a high standard. Some special schools already achieve this, but it is clear from HMCI's report that the quality overall is variable. The SEN strategy therefore includes the development of generic minimum standards for SEN support services which would extend to outreach offered by special schools. It is envisaged that these will be used for self-evaluation by local authorities and schools and in Ofsted inspections and will be a form of quality assurance for schools obtaining support from external sources.

Special Educational Needs

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many area special educational needs co-ordinators have been created to support non-maintained schools;
	(2)  what the Government's target for training for each special educational needs co-ordinator is; when this target is scheduled to be met; and what progress has been made in meeting it;
	(3)  what proportion of registered early years settings have special educational needs co-ordinators.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 1 March 2004
	All SENCOs based in early years settings will have benefited from three days relevant training by 2004. We are currently in the process of evaluating how local authorities are delivering the new SEN training materials. We are also asking local authorities how they are ensuring that SENCOs based in yearly years settings receive the appropriate training to be able to deliver services to meet local needs.
	SENCOs are based in private, voluntary and independent sector early years settings. It is a requirement that all publicly funded early years provision has a SENCO. These SENCOs are supported by approximately 850 Area SENCOs who have been employed to support early years settings. Encouragingly the assessment of LEA/EYDCP plans for 2002/03 revealed that 90 per cent. of local authorities had Area SENCOs in place. Figures for 2003/04 will be available later this year.

Pre-school Education

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many new nurseries have been established in Crosby since 1997;
	(2)  how many (a) Sure Start centres and (b) early excellence centres have been created in Crosby.

Margaret Hodge: There are no Early Excellence Centres in Crosby. However, part of the catchment area for the Sure Start Seaforth and Bootle local programme is located in the church ward within the Crosby constituency. Since 1997, five new nurseries have been established in the constituency creating 189 additional places. A neighbourhood nursery attached to the Sure Start local programme is due to open in June 2004. and will deliver 65 new childcare places.

School Sports

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action his Department is taking to encourage local education authorities to work with primary care trusts to improve delivery of sports and physical activity.

Stephen Twigg: Encouraging local education authorities and primary care trusts to work together to support the improved delivery of sports and physical activity opportunities is central to the work of the Government's Activity Co-ordination Team. The Department for Education and Skills is a full and active member of this group and is responsible for developing the education strand.
	In developing the education strand and in taking forward new action to support local education authorities and primary care trusts, we will seek to build and maximise the impact of:
	the national PE, School Sport and Club Links Strategy;
	the 'Healthy Living Blueprint'announced by the Secretary of State while speaking at the Institute of Public health last autumn. The blueprint will cover all areas of nutrition and how schools can make changes that will improve the health and lifestyle of their pupils;
	the National Healthy Schools Standard (NHSS)a joint initiative between the Department for Education and Skills and the Department of Health where one of the key strands of the programme is physical activity.
	The Activity Co-ordination Team will publish proposals later this year.

Specialist Sports Colleges(Out-of-hours Provision)

James Purnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will publish the progress reports the Department receives from specialist sports colleges monitoring their commitment to the provision of out-of-hours community use of their sports facilities.

David Miliband: It would be disproportionately costly to provide the progress reports received from all specialist sports colleges. However, it may be useful to refer to the report template filled in by specialist schools after two years of each four year designation phase. This is available on the specialist schools website http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/specialistschools/progress/?version=1.
	The Department funds the Youth Sport Trust (YST) to work with sports colleges locally, with, for example, regular visits which include a specific focus on developing the community dimension and challenging the school about their practice. Where appropriate, the YST also works with key local stakeholders (e.g. local authority) on issues relating to community provision.
	There is further information about out-of-hours access to sports college facilities in Section E of the Youth Sport Trust's 2003 National Survey of Specialist Sports Colleges, available at http://www. youthsporttrust.org/scnational/YST%20Documents/Forms/Allltems.htm.

Streaming

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of lessons inspected by Ofsted in 200203 in (a) year 7, (b) year 8, (c) year 9, (d) year 10 and (e) year 11 were set by ability in (i) grammar schools, (ii) secondary modern schools and (iii) comprehensive schools.

David Miliband: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, David Bell, will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of his letter in the Library.

Student Loans

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what proportion of student loans he estimates will not be paid off after 25 years following the introduction of top-up fees;
	(2)  what estimate of (a) the proportion of the overall student loan book, (b) the total value of loans and (c) the total number of individual loans that would remain outstanding after 25 years he used in calculating the level of cost to the Government of his proposal to write off all loans after that period.

Alan Johnson: Estimates of the cost of subsidising both maintenance and fee loans in 2006/07 were set out in the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) published on 8 January alongside the Higher Education Bill.
	We estimate that about 5 per cent. of borrowers, starting from 2006/07, may benefit from the proposal to write off loan balances after 25 years; the corresponding cost to the public purse is estimated at 30 million in steady state.
	Copies of the Regulatory Impact Assessment were placed in the Library of the House; it is also available on the Department for Education and Skills website.

Teachers (Crosby)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of teachers in Crosby have received computer training.

Charles Clarke: Statistics on teacher training in ICT are not compiled on a constituency basis, but all teachers are expected to be able to use ICT effectively in the classroom. In-service training was largely addressed by the UK-wide National Lottery-funded New Opportunities Fund (NOF) ICT training, which ran between 1999 and 2003, and to which some 96 per cent. of teachers in England signed-up.
	Training in the effective use of ICT in teaching is also a mandatory part of teacher training institute courses.
	Further training opportunities to address teachers' continuing professional development needs (CPD) in embedding ICT in classroom teaching are now being developed across a range of subjects, and teachers are able to buy into this training using Standards Fund monies.

Teachers (Crosby)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teacher vacancies there were in Crosby on the latest date for which figures are available; and what steps he is taking to reduce them.

David Miliband: The information is not available in the form requested. In January 2003, there were 10 vacancies for full-time teachers in maintained schools in the Sefton local education authority (LEA) area, which includes Crosby.
	Like other areas, since 1997 Sefton has benefited from the initiatives that the Government have put in place to recruit and retain teachers and to increase the number of staff supporting them in schools. Since 1997, the number of full-time equivalent regular teachers in maintained schools in Sefton LEA has risen by 120, from 2,540 to 2,660 in 2003. Over the same period, the number of full-time equivalent school support staff in the LEA has grown by 540, from 780 to 1,320.

Teachers (Crosby)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teaching assistants there were in schools in Crosby in (a) each of the last seven years and (b) on the latest date for which figures are available.

David Miliband: In Crosby constituency there were 148 full-time equivalent teaching assistants in service in maintained schools in 2003. This is the latest information available. The table gives the corresponding numbers since 1997.
	
		
			  Number of teaching assistants 
		
		
			 1997 89 
			 1998 92 
			 1999 103 
			 2000 123 
			 2001 145 
			 2002 131 
		
	
	Source:
	Annual Schools' Census.

University Title

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he expects to publish the criteria for the award of university title to colleges primarily engaged in teaching.

Alan Johnson: I expect to make an announcement in the week commencing 15 March on the results of the consultation on new criteria for degree awarding powers and university title.

Voluntary Sector Funding

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding has been provided to the voluntary and community sector from the (a) Neighbourhood Support Fund and (b) New Opportunities Fund in each year since 2001.

Margaret Hodge: The Neighbourhood Support Fund has provided the voluntary and community sector with a total of 54.9 million since 2001 to deliver a programme of informal learning and self development for hard to reach young people through neighbourhood projects.
	The amounts paid for each of the financial years covered by this period are as follows:
	
		
			   million 
		
		
			  
			  
			 200102 19.2 
			 200203 21.7 
			 200304 14 
		
	
	The new opportunities fund is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). DCMS have explained that the new opportunities fund do not collect data on whether the organisations they fund are from the voluntary and community sector, but they estimate that around 40 per cent. of the 2.4 billion they have committed has gone to this sector.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Savings Ratio

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received on changes to the savings ratio.

Malcolm Wicks: Government continues to work with all its partners to build confidence in pension saving and make available the information that can empower individuals to take control of their retirement planning. The savings ratio is one part of the evidence base available.
	However, it is a measure of current household saving (including pensioners), not a measure of saving for retirement. As such it is not an accurate predictor of long term pension savings.

Pensioner Benefits

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of pensioners in the Tamworth constituency are in receipt of (a) winter fuel payments and (b) pension credit.

Malcolm Wicks: As at winter 200203, the last full year for which figures are available, there were 15,225 winter fuel payments made to people aged over 60 in the Tamworth constituency. We cannot provide an estimate of the percentage of eligible people in receipt of a winter fuel payment, since payments are based on household composition and complete information on household circumstances is not available.
	At 29 February 2004 there were 3,165 households (3,930 individuals) in receipt of pension credit in the Tamworth constituency. It is not possible to express these figures as percentages of pensioners, since relevant population estimates are not held at constituency level.
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest five.
	2. Pension credit recipients include a small number of partners under age 60.
	3. Pension credit figures exclude a small number of clerical cases.

Pensioner Benefits

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners are not receiving their pension credit entitlement.

Malcolm Wicks: There is no reliable estimate of the number of pensioners not currently receiving their pension credit entitlement.
	We estimate that there are approximately 3.8 million pensioner households in Great Britain likely to be eligible for Pension Credit. Estimates of entitlement are known only with a significant margin of error as they are based on survey data, published after a time lag.
	My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions today announced latest progress on take up of Pension Credit. I am pleased to report that as at 29 February, there were 2.26 million households in Great Britain, comprising approximately 2.73 million individuals, receiving Pension Credit. This number increased by 83,000 households or 110,000 individuals in the last month alone and the number continues to grow.
	The hon. Member will be interested to learn that 2,653 households now receive Pension Credit in his constituency with an average award of 44.08.

Pensioner Benefits

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on pension credit.

Malcolm Wicks: Pension Credit is making a real difference to the lives of millions of pensioners. As the progress report published today shows, there are 2.26 million pensioner households, comprising some 2.73 million individuals, now receiving Pension Credit.
	Some 1.61 million households, comprising approximately 1.93 million individuals, are now receiving more money than they did under the old Minimum Income Guarantee system.
	In the hon. Member's constituency some 2,661 households are now receiving Pension Credit, with an average award of 35.60.

Carers Allowance

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of abolishing the overlapping benefits rule in respect of carers' allowance for (a) all carers and (b) carers aged under 75.

Maria Eagle: holding answer 25 February 2004
	The gross cost of abolishing the overlapping benefits rule for carers allowance is estimated at about 330 million a year, or 195 million after allowing for reduced payments in the income-related benefits 1 . Abolishing the rule only for those aged under 75 would be about 270 million or 160 million after offsetting adjustments. These figures do not take account of the behavioural effect of carers presently not claiming carers allowance who would be induced to do so by a change in the rules.
	1 Estimates use benefit rates for 200304 and are based on a 100 per cent. extract of carers allowance claims on the carer's allowance computer system for May 2003, a 5 per cent. extract from the claims on the income support computer system in 2003 and a 1 per cent. extract of the housing benefit/council tax benefit claims of May 2002.

Child Support Agency

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to finalise plans for existing payments under the Child Support Agency to be transferred to the new system of calculating payments.

Chris Pond: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Howard Stoate) on 27 January 2004, Official Report, column 341W.

Parliamentary Questions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will answer question reference 151019, tabled by the hon. Member for Northavon on 21 January.

Chris Pond: An answer was given on 12 March 2004, Official Report, column 1796W.

Departmental Website

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how often his Department updates the section on its website containing details of local Jobcentre Plus and Pension Service offices.

Des Browne: Information about Job Centre Plus and the Pension Service local offices is updated at least once a month.

Employment Development Fund

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of the Employment Development Fund was for each year from 199798 to 200506 (planned); what its purpose is; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The Employment Development Fund (EDF) was created in autumn 2001 to provide funds for the continued development of our Welfare to Work agenda, which has been successful in helping to reduce unemployment to its lowest level since 1975.
	EDF funds were primarily allocated to part-fund the national roll out of Jobcentre Plus, which delivers an enhanced work-focused service to all working age people. Remaining EDF funds were allocated to fund wider Welfare to Work policies.
	The EDF provided funds of 86 million in 200102; 577 million in 200203 and 564 million in 200304. The use of funds available from the EDF have now been agreed and the fund no longer exists.

Health and Safety

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to increase penalties for breaches of health and safety legislation.

Des Browne: The Government are committed to raising maximum penalties for health and safety breaches, as parliamentary time allows. We welcome the Health and Safety at Work (Offences) Bill, introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Edmonton (Mr. Love), which introduces the changes the Government are seeking to make.

Maintenance (Non-Resident Parents)

Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason working tax credit payments are taken into account in assessment of maintenance payments in respect of non-resident parents; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: The amount a non-resident parent pays to support his child should reflect his income whether or not that income includes working tax credit.
	In the new scheme working tax credit is taken into account as income for the non-resident parent's maintenance calculation. This carries forward the arrangements in the old scheme which also treated family credit (and then tax credits) as income.

Pension Protection Fund

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his Statement on 2 March 2004, Official Report, column 763, if he will place in the Library a copy of the actuarial simulations that have been produced for the projected finances of the pension protection fund on a range of different assumptions.

Malcolm Wicks: The original cost of 340 million to 375 million is the difference between the assets and the liabilities of the schemes taken over by the PPF in a year. We used the following assumptions to arrive at that cost:
	(i) Data on the MFR funding levels of just over 1,000 schemes that had an MFR valuation with an effective date between April 1997 and April 2000 were used. Adjustments were made for each scheme in the sample in order to estimate the up-to-date funding position. The results were scaled up to the total for all private sector occupational pension schemes. (ii) The value of the liabilities if such schemes were to fall within the responsibility of the pensions protection fund were estimated on a basis equivalent to midway between the current MFR basis and the full insurance buyout costs for the liabilities.
	(iii) The cost will obviously depend on the number of firms going insolvent. Allowance was made for the possibility of normal, poor and extreme years as far as bankruptcies are concerned, but on average over a 20-year period, the probabilities of a scheme becoming a liability of the PPF were assumed to be between about 0.3 per cent. a year for large schemes and 1 per cent. a year for small schemes. This assumed level of bankruptcy is cautious, especially given that it is very rare for large companies to go bankrupt.
	(iv) Allowance was made for the impact of the suggested salary cap using data on the earnings of occupational schemes members from the Family Resources Survey.
	These costs were recently recalculated at 300 million using the same methodology, but updated to take account of current market conditions and the decisions taken on the precise nature of the PPF compensation payable.

Remploy

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how his Department is working to help Remploy provide more opportunities for learning and employment to disabled people.

Maria Eagle: The Government agree Remploy's annual business plan, and set the targets for the employment and development of disabled people through the company's Workstep programme. Remploy are supported by the Government through investment of grant-in-aid each year; in 200304, this was set at 115 million.
	Remploy supports around 9,000 people on the Workstep programme nationally. During 200203, 1,610 disabled people progressed into unsupported employment with their help. At a local level, Jobcentre Plus Disability Employment Advisers work closely with Remploy to ensure disabled people are referred appropriately for support from the company. In addition, Remploy recruit to the Workstep programme directly.
	Remploy is separately contracted to deliver other Jobcentre Plus programmes, including New Deal for Disabled People, Work Preparation and Work Based Learning for Adults. These contracts are paid for and organised separately from the grant-in-aid given to Remploy for delivery of the Workstep programme.
	In 200304, Remploy's target is that each employee should spend 5 per cent. of their time on learning and development activities; they are currently on course to exceed this. In addition, Remploy is currently developing a network of learning centres, to provide all their employees with access to learning opportunities.

Small Business Support

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the support programmes for small businesses that (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have financed in each of the last five years; how much money was allocated for each scheme in each year; how much money has gone unclaimed under each scheme; and how many small businesses have benefited from each scheme.

Maria Eagle: As a result of the cross-cutting review of Government services for small business, Jobcentre Plus' employer strategy is developing services to make them more responsive to the diverse characteristics and recruitment needs of smaller businesses.
	Jobcentre Plus is undertaking an ongoing programme of research to understand the characteristics and needs of small businesses; developing a proactive and co-ordinated approach towards raising awareness of some of the services offered through the local office network; introducing Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) specialists in each region to support local office delivery; and continuing to build on strategic partnerships with the National Employment Panel SME Board, Business Link, Learning and Skills Councils and others at local level to deliver more coherent services to small businesses.
	However this Department does not have any financial support programmes for small businesses. This is an area for the Department of Trade and Industry.

Pensions Uprating (European Union Residents)

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the Department's policy is on up-rating pensions for British pensioners living in (a) EU countries and (b) EU accession countries.

Chris Pond: Uprating of State Pension is currently paid to pensioners in the European Economic Area and Switzerland under the provisions of the European Community's social security legislation (Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71). These provisions will apply equally to accession countries.

TREASURY

Birth Defects

Iris Robinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many birth defects there were in each of the last five years in England.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mrs. Iris Robinson, dated 15 March 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking for the number of birth defects in each of the last five years in England. (160624)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for maintaining the National Congenital Anomaly System (NCAS) notifications in England and Wales. These notifications are collected only for live and stillbirths (e.g. terminations are excluded) and are provided by NHS Trusts on a voluntary basis either directly to ONS or via local congenital anomaly registers that exchange data with ONS.
	In 1997 there were no registers exchanging information with NCAS. By 2001, NCAS received more complete information from four local congenital anomaly registers through multi-source ascertainment. As a result, numbers of notifications in England and Wales have increased since 1997. These registers cover all births in Wales and 24 per cent. of births in England. For the remaining areas NCAS relies solely on SD56 notification forms and is likely to be less complete. Up to eight malformations can be recorded on the system for each baby.
	Estimates of the figures requested, covering the latest five year period are shown in the attached table.
	
		Estimated numbers of malformations recorded, 19972001, England
		
			  Estimated number of malformations notified 
		
		
			 1997 6,753 
			 1998 6,516 
			 1999 8,575 
			 2000 9,273 
			 2001 8,027 
		
	
	Source:
	Estimates based on numbers of babies notified to National Congenital Anomaly System at 31 July 2002 (Health Statistics Quarterly no. 16 Annual update: Congenital anomaly statisticsnotifications 2001) and the number of malformations recorded for each notified case.

Charities

Paul Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how he will monitor compliance with the 2006 full cost recovery commitment for the charitable sector.

Fiona Mactaggart: I have been asked to reply.
	The Role of the Voluntary and Community Sector: a cross cutting review recommends that all Government Departments will implement the principle of full cost recovery by April 2006.
	This recommendation is being taken forward through two main strands of work:
	Guidance to government departments, as reflected in the HM Treasury 'Guidance to Funders' and forthcoming procurement guidance from the Office for Government Commerce and the Home Office Active Community Unit. This will be reinforced by a revised Compact Code of Good Practice on Funding.
	Guidance to voluntary and community organisations on identifying costs. This guidance is being taken forward by the Association of Chief Executives in Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) with the aid of a grant from the ACU and advice from a range of government department as well from the National Audit Office.
	However, it not intended to introduce a new layer of bureaucracy by monitoring all contracting and grant agreements with the voluntary and community sector. Instead, the Active Community Unit will work with departments to help review existing practice and make changes whenever the opportunity arises. The Active Community Unit will remain in dialogue with the sector booth through a longitudinal study of voluntary and community organisations through the State of the Sector Panel and through general dialogue with the sector.

Charities

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate Her Majesty's Treasury has made of the number of charities that will be affected by the changes to Gift Aid announced in the pre-Budget report; and what cross-departmental steps can be taken to assist charities adversely affected by the changes.

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on changes he proposes to the Gift Aid scheme.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentlemen to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Leominster (Mr. Wiggin) on 15 January 2004, Official Report, columns 86566W. The Government have consulted closely with charities on this issue.

Child Tax Credit

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what correspondence his Department has sent to families relating to the transfer of the child elements of Jobseeker's Allowance and Income Support to Child Tax Credit payments; and if he will place copies in the Library.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue has not entered into general correspondence with families about the transfer from child allowances in Income Support and income-based Jobseekers Allowance to Child Tax Credit. I understand however that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has written to all IS/JSA(IB) families to notify them of the change. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

Economic Statistics

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Buckingham have received Child Tax Credit.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle) on 25 February 2004, Official Report, column 407W.

Economic Statistics

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many senior citizens in Buckingham qualified for the 10 pence rate of income tax in each year since its introduction.

Dawn Primarolo: All income taxpayers benefit from the 10 pence starting rate. The Survey of Personal Incomes estimates there are about 6,000 state retirement pension age taxpayers in the Buckingham constituency in 200001. Figures for 19992000 are currently not available.

Economic Statistics

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the (a) change and (b) percentage change in full-time permanent jobs in Buckingham was from 1 May 1997 to 31 December 2003;
	(2)  how many new jobs have been created in Buckingham since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. John Bercow, dated 15 March 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about full time jobs, and jobs created in Buckingham. (161325, 161326)
	The attached table shows the information requested for 1997 and 2002, which is the latest year available.
	No information is available about numbers of new jobs created during this period.
	
		Number of full-time and part-time employees(19) in Buckingham Parliamentary Constituency: 1997 and 2002
		
			  Full-time Part-time Total 
		
		
			 Number of employees 
			 1997 15,600 7,600 23,200 
			 2002 16,000 7,700 23,800 
			  
			  Change from 1997 to 2002 
			 Absolute 400 100 600 
			 Percentage 2.8 2.3 2.6 
		
	
	(19) Employee jobs only, not self-employed jobs.
	Source:
	1997; Annual Employment Survey, rescaled 2002; Annual Business Inquiry (ABI).

Economic Statistics

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of unemployment was in Buckingham in each year since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. John Bercow, dated 15 March 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about unemployment in Buckingham.
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) following International Labour Organisation definitions. However, the LFS sample size is too small to give reliable estimates of unemployment in the Buckingham Parliamentary Constituency.
	ONS does also compile statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (ISA) for local areas including parliamentary constituencies.
	The table below gives the annual average number of ISA claimants for the Buckingham Parliamentary Constituency for each year since 1997.
	
		Average annual number of JSA claimants in the Buckingham parliamentary constituency
		
			  Average number of claimants 
		
		
			 1997 677 
			 1998 508 
			 1999 473 
			 2000 382 
			 2001 377 
			 2002 416 
			 2003 429

Economic Statistics

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in Buckingham have benefited from the 100 per cent. tax exemption for the purchase of computer and internet equipment.

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in (a) the North West, (b) Lancashire and (c) Chorley have benefited from the 100 per cent. tax exemption for the purchase of computer and internet equipment.

Dawn Primarolo: We regret that the information is not available to estimate the number of businesses in the areas mentioned which have benefited from the 100 per cent. first year capital allowances for the purchase of information and communication equipment.

Economic Statistics

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many senior citizens in (a) Lancashire and (b) Chorley qualified for the 10 per cent. rate of income tax in each year since its introduction.

Dawn Primarolo: All income taxpayers benefit from the 10 pence starting rate. The Survey of Personal Incomes estimates there are about (a) 90,000 state retirement pension age taxpayers in Lancashire and (b) 8,000 state retirement pension age taxpayers in the Chorley constituency in 200001. Figures for 19992000 are currently not available.

Economic Statistics

Janet Dean: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many families in Burton constituency are in receipt of child tax credit;
	(2)  how many households in Burton constituency are receiving (a) working tax credit and (b) the child care element of the working tax credit.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates of the number of in-work families receiving the child tax credit, and of the number receiving child or working tax credit, in each constituency appear in Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics. Geographical analyses. January 2004. This can be found on the Inland Revenue website at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/menu.htm. The estimates are based on a sample of cases, and are subject to sampling uncertainty. No reliable estimates are available of the number receiving the childcare element of working tax credit due to the small number of sample cases.

Economic Statistics

Janet Dean: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many senior citizens in (a) Burton constituency and (b) Staffordshire qualified for the 10 per cent. rate of income tax in each year since its introduction.

Dawn Primarolo: All income tax payers benefit from the 10 pence starting rate. The Survey of Personal Incomes estimates there are about (a) 9,000 state retirement pension age taxpayers in the Burton constituency and (b) 70,000 state retirement pension age taxpayers in Staffordshire in 200001. Figures for 19992000 are currently not available.

Family Gifts (Taxation)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to protect elderly people from tax liabilities arising from gifts made to their children for property purchases;
	(2)  what plans he has to levy income tax on gifts between family members.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government made clear in the pre-Budget report that it intends to combat the use of trust structures and other vehicles used for tax avoidance purposes. It has also made clear that it will not tax legitimate transactions between family members. The details of these proposals have been subject to consultation, and further announcements on how these objectives will be secured will be made in the Budget.

Employment (Crosby)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the (a) change and (b) percentage change was in full-time permanent jobs in Crosby from 1997 to 31 December 2003;
	(2)  how many new jobs have been created in Crosby since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Mrs. Curtis-Thomas, dated 15 March 2004
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about full time jobs, and jobs created in Crosby. I am replying in his absence. (160532, 160533)
	The attached table shows the information requested for 1997 and 2002, which is the latest year available.
	No information is available about numbers of new jobs created during this period.
	
		Number of full-time and Part-time employees(20) in Crosby parliamentary constituency: 1997 and 2002 -- Number, per cent.
		
			  Full-Time Part-Time Total 
		
		
			  Number of employees  
			 1997 10,500 6,200 16,700 
			 2002 10,800 6,700 17,500 
			 
			  Change from 1997 to 2002  
			 Absolute 300 500 800 
			 Percentage 3.3 7.3 4.8 
		
	
	(20) Employee jobs only, not self-employed jobs.
	Source:
	1997; Annual Employment Survey, rescaled 2002; Annual Business Inquiry (ABI).

Employment (Crosby)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were employed in tourism-related jobs in Crosby on the latest date for which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Mrs. Curtis-Thomas, dated 15 March 2004
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about tourism-related jobs in Crosby. I am replying in his absence. (160565)
	The latest available data, from the 2002 Annual Business Inquiry, shows that the total number of people employed in tourism related jobs in Crosby was 1,600. This total is obtained by combining estimates of those working in the following industries, as identified by the Standard Industrial Classification 2003:
	hotels
	restaurants
	bars
	activities of travel agencies
	libraries, archives, museums etc.
	sporting activities
	other recreational activities.

EU Budget

Richard Spring: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list (a) EU member states' gross contributions to the EU budget, (b) EU member states' net contributions to the EU budget and (c) the United Kingdom's abatement, for the last two financial years.

Ruth Kelly: Based on the most recent information published by the European Commission the gross and net contributions of member states for the years 2001 and 2002 are set out in the following tables.
	
		Gross contributions, after taking account of the UK abatement  -- Euros million
		
			 EU15 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Belgium 3,532 3,018 
			 Denmark 1,778 1,688 
			 Germany 19,727 17,582 
			 Greece 1,350 1,338 
			 Spain 6,592 6,551 
			 France 14,471 14,152 
			 Ireland 1,211 1,019 
			 Italy 11,613 11,280 
			 Luxembourg 257 184 
			 Netherlands 5,517 4,467 
			 Austria 2,091 1,809 
			 Portugal 1,266 1,187 
			 Finland 1,233 1,185 
			 Sweden 2,338 2,086 
			 United Kingdom 7,743 10,153 
		
	
	
		Net contributions(21)  -- Euros million
		
			 EU15 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Belgium -518 -1,475 
			 Denmark 429 216 
			 Germany 9,380 5,897 
			 Greece -4,391 -3,357 
			 Spain -7,057 -8,666 
			 France 2,720 1,929 
			 Ireland -1,108 -1,581 
			 Italy 2,920 3,039 
			 Luxembourg -644 -791 
			 Netherlands 3,830 2,876 
			 Austria 688 255 
			 Portugal -1,681 -2,686 
			 Finland 213 -18 
			 Sweden 1,245 841 
			 United Kingdom 1,805 3,985 
		
	
	(21) Minus sign denotes net recipient.
	The figures for the UK Abatement, which are included within the figures in the tables, are:
	
		Euros million
		
			  United Kingdom 
		
		
			 2001 7,343 
			 2002 4,934 
		
	
	The UK abatement for the financial years 200102 and 200203 was:
	
		
			   million 
		
		
			 200102 4,427 
			 200203 3,234

EU Budget

Richard Spring: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value of the EU rebate to the UK has been since its agreement in 1984.

Ruth Kelly: By the end of financial year 200203 the UK abatement has been worth around 37 billion since its introduction.

Customs and Excise

Alan Reid: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many detector dogs are engaged in detecting illegal imports of (a) meat and (b) other animal products.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) on 3 December 2003, Official Report, column 60W. The six dogs trained to detect meat and other products of animal origin are now deployed in operational use.

Customs and Excise

John Whittingdale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Customs and Excise staff are employed to tackle illegal imports of meat; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: Customs has over 3,000 front-line detection staff, all of whom have responsibility for detecting illegal imports, including meat and other products of animal origin, as part of their normal duties. In addition, the 4 million funding for 200304 provides for four new specialist detection teams and allows the detector dog complement to be increased from two to six.
	These staff are also supported by others who work on intelligence, analysis, publicity and overall policy development.

Customs and Excise

John Whittingdale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many prosecutions for illegal import of meat have taken place in each of the last 10 years.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) on 3 December 2003, Official Report, columns 5861W. Customs brought no prosecutions between 1994 and 2000.

Customs and Excise

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what national standards apply to time limits for the handling by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise of recoverable debt cases; and what the performance of debt management units in meeting these standards was in (a) 200102 and (b) 200203;
	(2)  how many staff were employed in Her Majesty's Customs and Excise debt management units in (a) 200102 and (b) 200203; and how many new staff were recruited to the units in each of those financial years;
	(3)  what the cost was of the specialist asset recovery teams set up to pursue the recovery of assets from directors involved in fraudulent companies in (a) 200102 and (b) 200203; how many staff were deployed in these teams in each of those financial years; and what assets were realised by these teams in each case;
	(4)  how much missing trader fraud debt owed to Her Majesty's Customs and Excise was outstanding at the end of 200203;
	(5)  what the value of new debt owed to Her Majesty's Customs and Excise notified to the debt management units in 200203 was; and how much of that new debt was represented by VAT missing trader fraud;
	(6)  how much debt was owed to Her Majesty's Customs and Excise on 31 March 2003 (a) in total and (b) broken down by type of debt; what percentage that total formed of the total amount of taxes and duties collected by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in 200203; and what the change in the number of unresolved debts since 31 March 2002 was.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 20 November 2003, Official Report, columns 132829W.

Iraq

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what contributions were made after 2 December 1992 by overseas Governments in respect of costs incurred by the UK during the Gulf War.

Paul Boateng: holding answer 4 March 2004
	None are recorded.

Project Funding

Tony Colman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many (a) solely state-financed and (b) public-private partnership and private finance initiative projects for which his Department is responsible have been launched in each region in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how much was spent by (a) the Government on solely state-financed projects and (b) the (i) Government and (ii) private sector on public-private and private finance initiative projects for which his Department is responsible in each of the last 10 years, broken down by region.

Paul Boateng: Information on signed private finance initiative projects is submitted to the Treasury by Departments. A spreadsheet of these data, which were last submitted in July 2003, is available from the HM Treasury website at http://www.hm-treasurv.gov.uk/documents/public private partnerships/pop pfi stats. cfm. The spreadsheet can be searched by sponsoring Department, capital value and region.
	Information on individual conventionally procured capital projects is not held centrally and is a matter for individual Departments.
	The Treasury itself has not launched any conventionally procured capital projects in the last 10 years.

Business Regulation

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2004, Official Report, column 1209W, on the EU regulatory burden, whether he has received a copy of the CBI's top 10 regulatory threats; and how many of these regulations derive from the EU.

Dawn Primarolo: The Treasury is aware that the CBI has published a list of 10 regulatory threats. These include six European regulations, one issue of UK application of EU law, two cases of UK policy, and one issue relating to United States legislation.

Small Business

Brian Cotter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the support programmes for small businesses that (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have directly financed, including lower rate tax reliefs, in each of the last five years; how much money was allocated for each scheme in each year; how much money has gone unclaimed under each scheme; and how many small businesses have benefited from each scheme.

John Healey: The cross-cutting review of Government services for small business was published by the Government in December 2002, and outlines the services provided to small businesses from Departments and agencies across Government. A copy is available in the Library of the House.
	Further details of Government expenditure allocated by the Treasury, incorporating expenditure upon small business support, are set out within departmental estimates, which are also available in the Library of the House. Details of the tax treatment of small business are set out annually in the Chancellor's Budget statement.

Sugar Tax

Diana Organ: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce a sugar tax on soft drinks; and if he will make a statement on the use of new taxes to promote healthy eating.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government keeps all aspects of the tax system under review. There are no current plans to introduce a 'sugar tax'.
	As the Wanless Review Securing Good Health for the Whole Population discusses, there are difficulties of principle and practice with using tax instruments to promote public health. In particular, unlike with smoking where any consumption can have damaging effects, the consumption in moderation of most foodstuffs can be to the benefit rather than the detriment of an individual's health.

Suicides

Charles Hendry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many suicides of people under 30-years-old there have been in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) age and (b) sex.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Charles Hendry, dated 15 March 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning how many suicides of people under 30 years old there have been in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) age and (b) sex. (161083)
	The most recent available figures on suicide mortality are for the calendar year 2002. Figures for each year are given in the table below for the calendar years 1997 to 2002.
	
		Number of deaths from suicide(22) and injury undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted(23), among people aged under 30 by (a) age and (b) sex: England and Wales, 1997 to 2002(24)
		
			  Males Females 
			  1319 2024 2529 Total 1319 2024 2529 Total 
		
		
			 1997 139 371 454 964 41 70 106 217 
			 1998 149 315 501 965 42 84 101 227 
			 1999 128 311 435 874 44 70 105 219 
			 2000 140 265 405 810 47 68 96 211 
			 2001 129 257 323 709 32 64 83 179 
			 2002 116 236 327 679 41 59 97 197 
		
	
	(22) The cause of death for intentional self harm was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes E950-E959for the years 1997 to 2000, and, for the years 2001 and 2002, the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84.
	(23) The cause of death for injury undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes E980-E989 excluding E988.8 for the years 1997 to 2000, and, for the years 2001 and 2002, the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes Y10-Y34 excluding Y33.9 where the Coroner's verdict was pending. It is assumed likely that most of these deaths at ages over 13 are cases where the harm is self-inflicted but there was insufficient evidence to prove that the deceased deliberately intended to kill themselves. As there were no intentional self harm deaths in children under the age of 13, data for undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted have not been included.
	(24) Figures are for deaths occurring in each calendar year from 1997 to 2002.

Tax Credits

George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what he estimates the cost would be for each of the next seven years of (a) increasing child and Working Tax Credits in line with (i) prices and (ii) earnings, (b) increasing the family element of the Child Tax Credit in line with prices and other elements and the thresholds in line with earnings and (c) increasing the family element of the Child Tax Credit in line with prices, the thresholds in line with prices, and the other elements in line with earnings.

Dawn Primarolo: A reliable estimate could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Unemployment (Crosby)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of unemployment was in each year since 1997 in Crosby.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mrs. Curtis-Thomas dated 15 March 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about unemployment in Crosby. (160531)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) following International Labour Organisation definitions. However, the LFS sample size is too small to give reliable estimates of unemployment in the Crosby Parliamentary Constituency.
	ONS does also compile statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (ISA) for local areas including parliamentary constituencies.
	The table below gives the annual average number of JSA claimants for the Crosby Parliamentary Constituency for each year since 1997.
	
		Average annual number of JSA claimants in the Crosby parliamentary constituency, 19972003
		
			  Average number of claimants 
		
		
			  
			  
			 1997 2,151 
			 1998 1,804 
			 1999 1,645 
			 2000 1,452 
			 2001 1,243 
			 2002 1,155 
			 2003 1,142

VAT

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Customs and Excise's strategy to tackle VAT missing trader fraud; how many staff were deployed to tackle this type of fraud in (a) 200102 and (b) 200203; what the cost of deploying staff to tackle this type of fraud was in each case; and what additional costs were attached to the strategy in (i) 200102 and (ii) 200203.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 20 November 2003, Official Report, column 1330W.
	Details of Customs' strategy and progress in tackling VAT missing trader fraud are contained in their Annual Report and Accounts 200203 published in December 2003 (HC 52).
	Information on the number of staff deployed to tackle VAT missing trader fraud in 200102 is contained in Tackling Indirect Tax Fraud (November 2001) and for 200203 in Measuring and Tackling Indirect Tax Losses (December 2003). Copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
	Customs does not maintain information about costs in the format requested and it could be produced only at disproportionate cost to produce.

VAT

Diana Organ: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether there are regional targets for collection of VAT on (a) new educational buildings and (b) new annexes to educational buildings;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the collection of VAT on (a) new educational buildings and (b) extensions and annexes to existing buildings used for education purposes, in the further education sector.

John Healey: In accordance with the European Union Directives which govern the UK VAT rules, new buildings and annexes to existing buildings constructed by charities for non-business use can be zero-rated in certain circumstances. Educational establishments which meet the tests for zero-rating can benefit from this relief. Extensions, on the other hand, are always standard-rated, except those that qualify as approved alterations to protected buildings.
	There are no regional targets for the collection of VAT on new educational buildings or new annexes to educational buildings. Customs and Excise aims to collect the correct amount of VAT at the right time across the whole country, regardless of the region.

VAT

Charles Hendry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer under what circumstances local authorities are unable to recover VAT incurred by activities and transactions relating to the delivery of services.

John Healey: Local authorities are able to recover the VAT incurred in connection with their statutory activities and in connection with much of their trading. The legal basis for this is in section 33 of the VAT Act 1994.
	Under sub-section 33(2), they cannot recover VAT incurred in connection with business activities which are exempt from VAT, unless the amount is insignificant. An amount would be insignificant if it were less than 5 per cent. of the total VAT incurred by an authority in a year.
	Under sub-section 33(6) local authorities cannot recover any VAT that would be irrecoverable by all other VAT registered persons.

Welsh Industries

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money was spent in each of the last five years on assistance to industries in Wales.

Paul Boateng: Devolved funding decisions are a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government.

Windfall Profits (Banks)

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to tax the windfall profits of the main clearing banks.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 12 March 2004
	Tax policy is reviewed as part of the annual Budget process. There are no current plans to introduce a windfall tax on banks.

HEALTH

Alcohol Advertising

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2004, Official Report, column 1061W, on alcohol advertising, what judgement the Chief Medical Officer has formed on the studies.

Melanie Johnson: The Chief Medical Officer has read and considered evidence in the interim analytical report produced by Prime Minister's Strategy Unit and awaits the publication of the Government's Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England. The strategy is due to be published shortly in accordance with the timetable set out in the NHS Plan.
	The public health white paper, Choosing Health?, was launched at the beginning of March, with a consultation on improving people's health to run for 12 weeks. This offers the opportunity to have a wide-ranging national debate about improving the health of the whole population, including issues associated with alcohol misuse. We will ensure that the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England feeds into this consultation.

Allergies

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent medical breakthroughs he has assessed in the (a) identification and (b) treatment of allergies.

Stephen Ladyman: We are not aware of any specific recent medical breakthroughs.

Amantadine

Alan Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the (a) use and (b) effectiveness of amantadine in the treatment of multiple sclerosis in the national health service.

Stephen Ladyman: Products containing amantadine are not currently licensed for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the United Kingdom. In order to determine whether amantadine is safe and effective in the treating multiple sclerosis, the product would need to be assessed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the new indication approved by the Committee on Safety of Medicines. To date, no such application has been made.
	A Cochrane Review to determine the effectiveness and safety of amantadine in reducing fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis was published in The Cochrane Library, Issue 1, 2004. The reviewers concluded that the efficacy of amantadine treatment in reducing fatigue in people with MS is poorly documented and that there is insufficient evidence to make recommendations to guide prescribing.

Continence Services

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment has been made of the facilities available in schools to manage children who have (a) bladder and (b) bowel conditions;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the cost-effectiveness of dedicated specialist paediatric continence services;
	(3)  what assessment has been made of the services available to children with continence problems since February 2000;
	(4)  how many paediatric specialist continence nurses are practising; and what plans he has to increase their number.

Stephen Ladyman: The effects of bladder and bowel conditions and other causes of continence problems in children can be of serious concern in schools. All schools in England were made aware of the Department's Good Practice in Continence Services guidance (2000), which addresses measures for effective management. I understand the Department for Education and Skills requires schools to have toilet and medical facilities in accordance with the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999. It is for local assessment of need, on a case by case basis, to determine what additional facilities may be needed in schools. Individual provision in schools is not assessed centrally.
	Good Practice in Continence Services indicates cost-effectiveness associated with specialist continence services and advises that each national health service primary care trust (PCT) should have specialist continence services in place which provide an individual assessment of needs. PCTs are also encouraged to use the Modernisation Agency's publication, Good practice in paediatric continence servicesbenchmarking in action, when ensuring levels of quality and provision.
	PCTs are responsible for assessing and providing continence services in accordance with need, and for determining the number of nurses necessary for this activity. An assessment of services and the number of paediatric specialist continence nurses practising, is not undertaken centrally.

NHS Dentists

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists are accepting new NHS patients; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Information on dental practices which are accepting new National Health Service patients can be found on the www.nhs.uk website.
	Under current arrangements, dentists are able to vary their NHS commitment and so the number of practices accepting patients is subject to change in the light of such decisions by dentists to vary their NHS commitment.
	On the basis of the most recent information, out of the total number of 8,587 practices in England, on 2 March there were:
	4,022 practices accepting children;
	2,817 practices accepting charge paying adults;
	3,164 practices accepting charge exempt adults;
	1,545 practices that carry out occasional NHS treatment to non-registered patients.
	Overall, 93 per cent. of callers to NHS Direct are being directed to dentists within locally agreed distance standards who are accepting NHS patients.

NHS Dentists

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the population was registered with an NHS dentist in each primary care trust in each year since PCTs were established.

Rosie Winterton: The information available is for general dental service (GDS) dentist registration rates for adults and children in England at 30 September 2002 and 2003. The registration rates for each primary care trust area has been placed in the Library.
	Registrations lapse if patients do not return to their dentists within 15 months. Registration rates therefore exclude patients who have not been to their GDS dentist within the past 15 months. They also exclude patients who receive dental treatment from other National Health Service dental services such as personal dental services (PDS) and community dental services (CDS) as patients do not need to be registered to access these services.
	Registrations are included in the area of the dentist. The registration rates for some areas may be affected by some patients receiving their dental treatment in a different area from the one in which they live.
	Patients wishing to see a GDS dentist can obtain details of dentists accepting patients in their area by contacting NHS Direct. 93 per cent. of callers to NHS Direct in the first 10 months of 2003 were given details of dentists accepting new NHS patients within local distance standards.

NHS Dentists

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of (a) adults and (b) children in the West Chelmsford parliamentary constituency were registered with an NHS dentist in 1997; and how many were registered with an NHS dentist at the most recent date for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 11 March 2004
	The information available is for general dental service (GDS) dentist registration rates for adults and children in North Essex health authority at 30 September 1997 and at 30 September 2002 and for Chelmsford Primary Care Trust for 30 September 2002 and 30 September 2003, and is shown in the table.
	Registration will lapse if a patient does not return to their dentist within 15 months. Registration rates represent the proportion of the population who have attended a dentist under GDS arrangements in the previous 15 months. The registration period was changed for new registrations and registration renewals from September 1996. Previously the period for adults was 24 months and for children registration lapsed at the end of the following calendar year. The change caused registration numbers to fall between November 1997 and August 1998.
	Registrations are included in the area of the dentist. The registration rates for some areas may be affected by some patients receiving their dental treatment in a different area from the one in which they live.
	National health service dental services are also provided by the community dental service, personal dental service, salaried service of the GDS and hospital dental service. These services do not require the patient to be registered with a dentist before treatment.
	
		National health service: Number of registered patients as a proportion of the population September each year
		
			  30 September 1997 30 September 2002 30 September 2003 
			 Health Authority/Primary Care Trust Child Adult Child Adult Child Adult 
		
		
			 North Essex Health authority 0.66 0.51 0.64 0.46   
			 Chelmsford PCT   0.64 0.50 0.64 0.51

Breast Feeding

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the National Service Framework for Children will include a national breast feeding strategy.

Stephen Ladyman: The national service framework for children, young people and maternity services will set out standards for a wide range of health and social care services and the interface with education.
	Rather than address specific conditions or issues, the standards are likely to set out what support should be available to children, young people and pregnant women in managing a range of conditions and issues.

Cosmetic Surgery

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to monitor the competence of doctors practising cosmetic surgery; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer my hon. Friend to the response given by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health to the hon. Member for South Suffolk (Mr. Yeo) on Monday 1 March 2004, Official Report, column 699W.

Epilepsy

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the NHS of drugs associated with the treatment of epilepsy was in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 12 March 2004
	The table shows the number of prescription items and cost of anti-epilepsy drugs dispensed in the community in England over five years from 1998 to 2002.
	
		Number of prescription items (millions) and net ingredient cost( million) of all Antiepilepsy drugs (British National Formulary, section 4.8) that were dispensed in the community in England, 1998 to 2002
		
			  1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Number of items (million) 6.12 6.40 6.70 7.20 7.60 
			 Net ingredient cost (million) 74.86 86.47 99.11 120.45 142.22 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Epilepsy drugs are included in British National Formulary (BNF) section 4.8 (Antiepileptics)
	2. The data is based on prescription items dispensed in the community in England, i.e. by community pharmacists and appliance contractors, dispensing doctors, and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered in England.
	3. The data do not cover drugs dispensed in hospital or private prescriptions.
	4. The net ingredient cost refers to the cost of the drug before discounts and does not include any dispensing costs or fees. It does not include any adjustment for income obtained where a prescription charge is paid at the time the prescription is dispensed or where the patient has purchased a pre-payment certificate.
	Source:
	Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) data from the Prescription Pricing Authority

EU Enlargement

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact of the free movement of (a) doctors, (b) nurses and (c) dentists from the EU accession countries on the national health service after 1 May.

John Hutton: Under the Accession Treaty of 16 April 2003, the new States must ensure that the qualifications they award to doctors, general nurses, midwives and dentists, in respect of training begun on or after 1 May 2004, meet specific minimum requirements.
	The qualifications they award in respect of training begun before then and which do not meet those requirements are also eligible for recognition but subject to certification from their national authorities of recent and substantial practice experiencenormally three out of the five years preceding the date of certification. These acquired rights provisions are on the lines adopted on previous accessions.
	Decisions about whether to offer employment to doctors, nurses and dentists from European Union accession countries are matters for local national health service bodies, taking into account the need to ensure the highest possible standards of public safety.

EU Enlargement

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 3 March 2004, Official Report, column 1022W, on EU accession states, what safeguards will be put in place to ensure that patients are not put at risk if there are accession states that are not compliant with EU minimum requirements on medical training by 1 May.

John Hutton: It is for the European Commission, which is closely monitoring the progress of Acceding States; to see that their obligations are met, The EC intends to update member states shortly. It is open to the regulatory bodies to require confirmation that applicants' qualifications meet minimum training standards or, if not, that they have had recent and substantial practice experience.

General Practitioners (Greater London)

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners there are per head of population in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough.

John Hutton: holding answer 3 March 2004
	Information on number of general practitioners per head of population is not collected by London borough. Information by primary care trust within the five London strategic health authority areas is shown in the table.
	
		All practitioners(25) per 100,000 of weighted population(26) for London by PCT as at 31March 2003
		
			  Population All practitioners(25) All practitioners per 1,000 population All practitioners per 100,000 population 
		
		
			 England 48,962,969 32,865 0.7 67.1 
			 of which: 
			  
			 London 6,984,254 4,855 0.7 69.5 
			 of which: 
			  
			 Q04 North West London   
			 5AT Hillingdon PCT 218,529 153 0.7 70.0 
			 5H1 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 156,901 104 0.7 66.3 
			 5HX Ealing PCT 302,552 207 0.7 68.4 
			 5HY Hounslow PCT 208,598 126 0.6 60.4 
			 5K5 Brent PCT 265,704 202 0.8 76.0 
			 5K6 Harrow PCT 179,698 137 0.8 76.2 
			 5LA Kensington and Chelsea PCT 162,850 127 0.8 78.0 
			 5LC Westminster PCT 180,388 147 0.8 81.5 
			   
			 Q05 North Central London   
			 5A9 Barnet PCT 293,766 227 0.8 77.3 
			 5C1 Enfield PCT 245,320 148 0.6 60.3 
			 5C9 Haringey PCT 225,029 169 0.8 75.1 
			 5K7 Camden PCT 196,993 154 0.8 78.2 
			 5K8 Islington PCT 179,449 130 0.7 72.4 
			 Q06 North East London
			 5A4 Havering PCT 226,567 137 0.6 60.5 
			 5C2 Barking and Dagenham PCT 168,575 74 0.4 43.9 
			 5C3 City and Hackney PCT 232,010 180 0.8 77.6 
			 5C4 Tower Hamlets PCT 203,175 156 0.8 76.8 
			 5C5 Newham PCT 256,047 171 0.7 66.8 
			 5C6 Walthamstow, Leyton and Leytonstone PCT 161,469 100 0.6 61.9 
			 5C7 Chingford, Wanstead and Woodford PCT 114,526 89 0.8 77.7 
			 5C8 Redbridge PCT 158,619 92 0.6 58.0 
			  
			 Q07 South East London
			 5A7 Bromley PCT 281,817 196 0.7 69.5 
			 5A8 Greenwich PCT 223,187 138 0.6 61.8 
			 5AX Bexley PCT 196,863 114 0.6 57.9 
			 5LD Lambeth PCT 274,572 201 0.7 73.2 
			 5LE Southwark PCT 239,874 156 0.7 65.0 
			 5LF Lewisham PCT 249,051 162 0.7 65.0 
			  
			 Q08 South West London
			 5A5 Kingston PCT 146,674 108 0.7 73.6 
			 5K9 Croydon PCT 304,201 210 0.7 69.0 
			 5LG Wandsworth PCT 242,365 192 0.8 79.2 
			 5M6 Richmond and Twickenham PCT 157,611 128 0.8 81.2 
			 5M7Sutton and Merton PCT 331,277 220 0.7 66.4 
		
	
	(25) Salaried Doctors (Para. 52 SFA), PMS Other and GP Retainers.
	(26) Population derived from GP registered lists normalised to national totals as recorded in ONS population census.
	Sources:
	Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.
	Department of Health Calculation of GMSNCL weighted populations

Child Protection

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve liaison between health and social services, with special reference to measures arising from the death of Victoria Climbi.

Stephen Ladyman: The children's national service framework will set out a vision for services that are integrated around the needs of the child and will emphasise the importance of joint working across the fields of education, health and social services.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the publication, by my hon. Friend the Minister for Children, on Tuesday 4 March of Every Child Matters: Next Steps and the Children Bill. These include a range of measures, which will transform relationships between frontline professionals, including doctors, nurses, teachers and social workers.

Intermediate Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to extend the provision of intermediate care services; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: We have exceeded the provision of 1,700 additional intermediate care places. We will be continuing the current programme to deliver the 5,000 additional intermediate care beds and this is likely to be achieved during 2004.

Nursing Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the increase in nursing care funding announced by his Department on 27 February, what he estimates the average cost per resident will be of free nursing care for older people.

Stephen Ladyman: The average cost for the just over 128,000 care home residents who receive National Health Service Funded Nursing Care is estimated at 87 per week from 1 April 2004.

Information Technology

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list each information technology project being undertaken by his Department and its agencies including the (a) start date, (b) planned completion date, (c) current expected completion date, (d) planned cost and (e) current estimated cost; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: Information technology projects costing 100,000 or more currently underway within the Department of Health and its agencies are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Project name Start Planned end date Current expected end date Planned cost (000) Current estimated cost (000) 
		
		
			 Children Looked After 6(27) September 2002 May 2004 May 2004 383 344 
			 DH Finance System April 2002 May 2004 May 2004 6,010 5,330 
			 DH Internet Content Management System/Service November 2002 October 2003 February 2004 3,000 3,450 
			 DH Personnel System-Improvements and upgrade March 2003 March 2004 March 2004 425 376 
			 e-Learning Induction Portal August 2002 November 2003 Mach 2004 119 131 
			 Enterprise Portal September 2003 November 2005 November 2005 3,600 3,600 
			 Improving records management for material outside the scope of MEDS April 2003 April 2005 April 2005 970 970 
			 MHRA Information Mgmt Strategy (Sentinel) January 2003 April 2005 April 2005 12,300 12,300 
			 Management of Electronic Documents System (MEDS BM2) January 2000 December 2003 March 2004 1,758 1,850 
			 Mental Health Minimum Data SetCentral Requirements Project June 2001 August 2004 August 2004 1,120 1,225 
			 Modernising InformationConformance to e-govt targets and standards January 2003 March 2004 June 2004 482 406 
			 National Programme for IT (NPfIT)National Data Spine December 2003 December 2010 December 2010 620,000 620,000 
			 NPfIT National e-booking service December 2003 December 2005 December 2005 64,500 64,500 
			 NPfITEastern local service provider (LSP) December 2003 December 2010 December 2010 934,000 934,000 
			 NPfITLondon LSP December 2003 December 2010 December 2010 996,000 996,000 
			 NPfITNorth East LSP December 2003 December 2010 December 2010 1,099,000 1,099,000 
			 NPfIT North West and West Midlands LSP December 2003 December 2010 December 2010 973,000 973,000 
			 NPfITSouthern LSP December 2003 December 2010 December 2010 986,000 986,000 
			 OIS Transformation Implementation Project October 2002 March 2004 May 2004 11,578 11,824 
			 PASA Contract Information Mgmt Sys phases 1 and 2 March 2003 January 2005 January 2005 229 229 
			 PASA Electronic Record Mgmt Sys January 2003 March 2005 March 2005 467 467 
			 Patient Experience Information Project January 2003 August 2004 August 2004 191 185 
			 Policy and Delivery System December 2001 October 2004 March 2004 777 758 
			 Reference Costs 2003 November 2002 December 2003 February 2004 340 358 
			 Research and Development Management System August 2002 May 2004 July 2004 319 286 
			 STEIS Maintenance Project July 2003 March 2004 April 2004 183 180 
			 Widening the range of material stored in MEDS April 2003 June 2004 July 2004 605 605 
		
	
	(27) This project is part of an area of work being transferred to DEFS

Information Technology

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many meetings the Director-General of NHS IT has had with (a) Mr. Bill Gates and (b) Microsoft executives in the last year.

John Hutton: Bill Gates routinely visits England every two years to maintain contact and meet with a range of key private and public sector bodies, including Government Departments.
	Bill Gates visited London on 26 January 2004 and amongst a full day of meetings and engagements, he met with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and myself and several senior Departmental and National Health Service officials, including Richard Granger, the Director General of NHS IT.
	Richard Granger also met Steve Ballmer, Microsoft chief operating officer, on 23 February 2004.

Information Technology

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if, prior to placing an order for a bespoke software office suite, the NHS will publish the details and results of the tendering process.

John Hutton: The Official Journal of the European Community notice on the national programme for information technology (NPfIT) in the National Health Service was published at the beginning of February 2003. This has led to a range of applications and software that will now be provided by the local service providers and contractors recently appointed by the NPfIT.
	There are also existing suppliers of software to the NHS covered by framework agreements and licensing arrangements. Developments and renegotiations for the framework agreements may be required over time.

People with Learning Disabilities

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people with learning disabilities have access to health services.

Stephen Ladyman: People with learning disabilities have the same right of access to medical treatment as everyone else. The NHS Plan emphasised the Government's commitment to a person-centred health service that challenges discrimination on all grounds.
	Valuing PeopleA New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century, includes an important chapter on improving health for people with learning disabilities. In July 2002, the Department issued good practice guidance on health action plans and health facilitation, two key elements of the Valuing People strategy for improving the health of people with learning disabilities. A health action plan is a personal plan detailing the actions needed to maintain and improve the health of an individual and any help needed to achieve this. The plan will usually be co-produced with them. Health facilitation involves casework to help people with learning disabilities access mainstream services. It also involves helping mainstream national health service services to respond to the needs of people with learning disabilities.
	The Valuing People support team produced All Means All in 2003. This explains how Improvement Expansion and Reform, the Department's planning and performance framework, relates to people with learning disabilities. All Means All discusses access to health care and identifies that primary care staff, for example, can ensure that all people with a learning disability are identified and known to all members of primary care teams.
	Discharge from Hospital: Pathway, Process and Practice, published by the health and social care joint unit and change agents team in January 2003 contains good practice guidance and guidelines for the acute sector when caring for someone with a learning disability. It talks about health action plans and emphasises the importance of liaison with the health or social care professional supporting the individual when making preparations for discharge from hospital.
	We have undertaken to look into the possibility of annual health checks for people with learning disabilities during 2004 in our response to the recent choice consultation exercise, Building on the BestChoice, Responsiveness and Equity in the NHS, which was published on 9 December 2003.

NHS Trusts

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the possible impact of recent changes to rules on revenue and capital for Queen Mary's Hospital NHS Trust and Oxleas NHS Trust; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when he intends to reply to the letter of 17 November 2003 from the hon. Member for Erith and Thamesmead concerning Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Oxleas NHS Trust;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the (a) revenue consequences for Oxleas NHS Trust of accounting changes affecting capital charges on PFI assets, and (b) possible impact on patient care;
	(4)  if he will agree to the meeting with hon. Members representing Bexley and Greenwich constituencies and representatives of Queen Mary's NHS Trust, Oxleas NHS Trust and Bexley Care Trust requested by the hon. Member for Erith and Thamesmead in his letter of 6 October 2003.

John Hutton: I have responded to the concerns raised about Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Oxleas national health service trust in my letter to the hon. Member of 28 February.

Hormone Replacement Therapy

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had concerning the dangers of oestrogen to women.

Stephen Ladyman: When the findings from the recently terminated oestrogen-only hormone replacement therapy (HRT) arm of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trial are published, they will be carefully considered by the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) and its expert working group on HRT. When its review is complete, any necessary action, including updating the current product information will be taken and women and doctors will be clearly informed of the advice. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has copied in the Scottish Executive in all their communications. Further briefing can be found on the MHRA website at www.mhra.gov.uk.

Organ Donation

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if his Department will introduce a monitoring system to assess whether (a) intensive care and (b) accident and emergency staff routinely (i) check the Organ Donor Register whenever a new patient is admitted and (ii) approach patients and relatives about organ donation;
	(2)  how many organs he estimates were missed, in intensive care units and accident and emergency wards, which could have been used for transplantation in the last three years;
	(3)  what measures his Department is taking to introduce training so that intensive care and accident and emergency staff (a) routinely check the Organ Donor Register whenever a new patient is admitted and (b) approach patients and relatives about organ donations.

Rosie Winterton: An audit of potential donors has been undertaken by UK Transplant since April 2003. It captures information about every death in every intensive care unit in the United Kingdom and records whether the organ donor register was contacted to check the wishes of the deceased.
	A recent analysis of the audit data carried out by UK Transplant shows that 250 out of 545, suitable for donation became donors, 25 were contraindicated for medical reasons, 206 relatives refused and for 64 families there was no record of any discussion about donation. In total there were 270 suitable donors who for different reasons did not donate. For physiological reasons not all donors can donate all organs.
	UK Transplant will employ an education and training manager to follow up the best practice guidance issued in 2003. A national health service education programme will provide expert education advice on the training needs associated with organ donation and transplantation and produce an education strategy, including the development of an education pack for pre and post graduate use, to deliver raised awareness and knowledge among all relevant NHS staff.

Orthopaedic Surgery (Greater London)

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in Greater London have been waiting for (a) less than six months, (b) six to 12 months, (c) one to two years, (d) two to three years and (e) more than three years for an (i) in-patient admission and (ii) initial out-patient assessment in orthopaedic surgery.

John Hutton: holding answer 3 March 2004
	Figures are collected by specialty. Orthopaedic surgery is included in the speciality Trauma and Orthopaedics. As at December 2003, for Trauma and Orthopaedics in the primary care trusts (PCTs) within the five London strategic health authorities (SHAs), there were:
	22,086 patients who had been waiting less then six months for inpatient admission.
	6,536 patients who had been waiting between six and 12 months for inpatient admission.
	No patients were waiting more than 12 months for inpatient admission.
	Figures for outpatients are not collected by monthly waiting time. As at December 2003, for Trauma and Orthopaedics in the PCTs within the five London SHAs there were:
	3,094 patients who had been waiting between 13 and 17 weeks after a general practitioner referral.
	969 patients who had been waiting between 17 and 21 weeks after a GP referral.
	Three patients who had been waiting between 21 and 26 weeks after a GP referral.
	No patients were waiting longer than 26 weeks after a GP referral.

Osteoporosis

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of NHS progress with respect to (a) prevention of osteoporosis and (b) treatment of women who are (i) at high risk of osteoporotic fracture and (ii) have sustained a fragility fracture.

Stephen Ladyman: The prevention, treatment, care and support of those at risk of osteoporosis are important components in the delivery of the integrated falls services that the national service framework for older people requires to be in place locally by April 2005. The Department will be monitoring formally the 2005 milestone as this is included as one of the key targets in Improvement, Expansion and Reform, the priorities and planning framework for 20032006. All strategic health authorities (SHAs) except one currently report that the April 2005 target will be achieved in their area. The Department has offered support to the SHA that may have difficulty meeting the target across the whole of its area.

Osteoporosis

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what he assesses will be the effect of National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidance proposed in the osteoporosis appraisal consultation document on standard six of the National Service Framework for Older People.

Stephen Ladyman: Standard six of the national service framework for older people sets out clear milestones for the National Health Service, working in partnership with councils, to take action to prevent falls and reduce resultant fractures or other injuries in their populations of older people.
	The National Institute for Clinical Excellence's technology appraisal will give doctors the latest evidence-based information on the most effective treatments for osteoporosis. This will ensure that patients have access to dear, authoritative advice on the sort of treatment that might be best for them.

Waiting Lists/Times

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the average length of time a patient was on the waiting list for treatment for (a) cancer and (b) heart disease in each London strategic health authority in each year since 1992;
	(2)  how many (a) cancer and (b) heart disease patients resident in each London strategic health authority were on a waiting list for treatment in each year since 1992.

John Hutton: holding answer 5 March 2004
	The five London strategic health authorities (SHAs) were established in April 2002. Figures are available only from this date.
	The tables show the average waiting times and the number of patients waiting for treatment for heart disease in London SHAs.
	
		Average waiting list times -- Months
		
			 SHA March 2003 December 2003 
		
		
			 North Central London 2.3 1 7  
			 North East London 2.9 3.0  
			 North West London 2.8 2.2  
			 South East London 2.2 1.9  
			 South West London 2.1 2.1  
		
	
	
		Number of patients on waiting list -- Months
		
			 SHA March 2003 December 2003 
		
		
			 North Central London 82 118 
			 North East London 731 760 
			 North West London 939 790 
			 South East London 626 521 
			 South West London 353 355 
		
	
	Information on the average waiting times and number of patients waiting for cancer treatment in London SHAs is not available centrally. The NHS Cancer Plan sets out our strategy to reduce waiting times for cancer patients. The ultimate goal is that no one should wait longer that one month from an urgent referral for suspected cancer to the beginning of treatment except for a good clinical reason or through patient choice; it is planned to achieve this by 2008.
	There is a series of staged milestones towards this goal: from 2001 new targets of a maximum one month wait from diagnosis to treatment for breast cancer and a maximum one month wait from urgent general practitioner referral to treatment for acute leukaemia, children's cancer and testicular cancer were introduced. From 2002, the target of a maximum wait of two months from urgent referral to treatment for breast cancer was introduced. By 2005, there will be targets of a maximum one month wait from diagnosis to treatment and a maximum two month wait from urgent GP referral to treatment for all cancers. Data on current targets are published quarterly on the Department's website for SHAs and trusts, at: http://www.performance.doh. gov.uk/cancerwaits.

Waiting Lists/Times

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were waiting for in-patient hospital treatment in the mid-Essex Hospital Trust area for each of the last two months.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 10 March 2004
	The information requested is shown in the table. This is the latest data that is available.
	
		
			  Month Number waiting for in-patient hospital treatment 
		
		
			 Mid-Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust December 2003 8,093 
			 Mid-Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust January 2004 7,895 
		
	
	Figures for February 2004 will be available on 2 April.

Working Time Directive

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact of the European working time directive on the number of hours a trainee surgeon will complete between senior house officer grade and obtaining a consultant post; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: The minimum length of time for each higher specialist training programme is governed by the European Specialist Medical Qualifications Order 1995. These minima are expressed in terms of years rather than hours. The shortest minimum is three years and the longest five. Training in the United Kingdom complies with them in all cases and exceeds them significantly in many instances.
	We have in place 20 European working time directive pilot projects, four hospital at night pilots, as well as a significant development programme linked to reform of postgraduate medical training. A vital element of this on-going work is to assess the inter-relationship between implementation of the directive and current proposals to reform medical training to ensure that it is better managed, structured and able to respond to the needs of patients and the service.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Sentencing

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the reasons for changes in average sentence lengths since 1991.

Paul Goggins: The average length of sentence passed in a magistrates' court increased from 2.9 months in 1991 to 3.1 months in 2002, the last year for which information is available.
	The average length of sentence passed in the Crown Court increased from 18.3 months in 1991 to 25.9 months in 2002.
	While it is for the courts to determine the sentence passed in individual cases the Government believes that prison should be reserved for serious, dangerous and seriously persistent offenders.
	It is the role of the recently appointed Sentencing Guidelines Council to publish robust and comprehensive sentencing guidelines to assist the courts in their task of ensuring consistent and just disposals in all cases.

Asylum and Immigration

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the vacancy rate in accommodation contracted for by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) was on the latest date for which figures are available, distinguishing between direct contracts and contracts placed with agencies such as local authorities, broken down by local authority area where NASS has such contracts.

Beverley Hughes: The information is not available in the format requested. With the reduction in the number of asylum applicants, work is underway to reduce the number of unoccupied places and further information will be provided about that in due course.

Asylum and Immigration

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what monitoring of returned unsuccessful asylum applicants is undertaken by UK representatives in (a) Congo, (b) Ivory Coast and (c) Cameroon; and if he will make a statement on his assessment of the safety of those individuals.

Beverley Hughes: All asylum (and human rights) claims are considered on their individual merits in accordance with our obligations under the 1951 United Nations' Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Should a Claim be refused and any appeal before the independent Immigration Appellate Authority be unsuccessful, it means that for that individual it is safe to return.
	In making decisions about removing failed asylum seekers, the Home Office takes full account of up to date information from a wide range of sources about the situation in the country of origin. These sources include intergovernmental organisations (such as the UN), governmental sources (including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) and human rights organisations (for example Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch).
	If an individual asylum seeker establishes a need for international protection they would not be returned.

Asylum and Immigration

Keith Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated annual cost to Manchester City Council is of the implementation of the provisions within the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Bill as they affect local authorities.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 8 March 2004
	Measures in the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Bill are designed to reduce abuse of the United Kingdom asylum system. We would therefore expect implementation of its provisions to reduce costs for central and local government in the long-term. Concerns have been raised over the potential impact of clause 8 of the Bill which proposes to withdraw support from failed asylum-seeking families if they refuse to co-operate with efforts to return them home. If, by putting themselves in this position, parents put their children at risk, it would be for the local authority to decide how the interests of their children should be protected under existing child protection legislation. The Bill does not change the grounds on which children may be taken into care. We do not believe that many, if any, parents would put their children in this position. We have made clear that local authorities would be reimbursed for costs incurred if a child did require assistance from a local authority as a consequence of the withdrawal of support.

Bail (Offences)

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking to prevent offences being committed by individuals released on bail.

Paul Goggins: The Government are determined to ensure that the courts give proper and careful consideration before exercising their discretion to grant bail where defendants who are already on bail commit an offence. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 provides that a defendant who applies for bail in respect of an offence that appears to have been committed while he was on bail for another offence may not be granted bail unless the court is satisfied that there is no significant risk of his offending again.

Coroners

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether coroners have powers to prevent burials taking place in private land.

Paul Goggins: Coroners do not have specific powers that allow them to prevent burials taking place in private land.

Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the hon. Member for Walsall, North's letter of 3 February regarding a constituent, Home Office ref. PO1274/4.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 8 March 2004
	I wrote to my hon. Friend on 10 March 2004.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 26 January from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. Abdo.

David Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 9 March 2004.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 26 January from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. A. Mboob.

David Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 4 March 2004.

Prosecutions (Romford/Havering)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful criminal prosecutions were brought for crimes perpetrated in the Romford area of the London borough of Havering during (a) 1995, (b) 1997, (c) 1999, (d) 2001 and (e) 2003;
	(2)  how many criminal charges were pressed for crimes perpetrated in the Romford area of the London borough of Havering during (a) 1995, (b) 1997, (c) 1999, (d) 2001 and (e) 2003.

Paul Goggins: The available information is contained in the table and relates to (a) defendants convicted and (b) defendants not convicted in the Havering Petty Sessional Area, the magistrates court within which sits at Romford, in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2002.
	Statistics of defendants charged with offences are not collected centrally.
	
		Defendants convicted and those not convicted of offences of all types in the Havering Petty Sessional Area
		
			  Defendants convicted Defendants not convicted(28) 
		
		
			 1995 4,101 1,243 
			 1997 3,711 965 
			 1999 3,695 933 
			 2001 3,112 970 
			 2002 4,973 1,239 
		
	
	(28) Includes defendants whose proceedings were discontinued, those discharged under Sec 6 MCA 1980, and those whose charges were withdrawn or dismissed.
	Statistics for 2003 will available in the autumn.

Deaths in Custody

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the people in custody who have committed suicide since 1 January including their name, date of birth, date of death, prison in which they died, the reason for imprisonment, date of sentencing and length of sentence they were serving.

Paul Goggins: As publishing such details can cause distress to the families of those bereaved by a self-inflicted death in prison, I will write to the hon. Member with this information in full.

Deaths in Custody

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many suicides in custody have been referred to the Prison Ombudsman in 2004 for investigation.

Paul Goggins: Since 1 January 2004, one apparently self-inflicted death has been referred to the Prison and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) for investigation. From 1 April 2004 the PPO will investigate all deaths of prisoners and probation hostel residents and any deaths of those held in immigration detention accommodation.

Deaths in Custody

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many deaths in custody have occurred in the last 10 years as a result of a heart attack to which harsh treatment has been found to be a contributory factor.

Paul Goggins: With one possible exception in police custody in 1999 (in respect of which two inquests have failed to establish the exact cause of death), no heart-related death during the last 10 years in Police, Immigration or Prison Service custody has been related to harsh treatment.

Detention and Removal Centres

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements are in place for medical examinations of immigration and asylum detainees who allege assault by members of staff of detention and removal centres, escorts, or other detainees.

Beverley Hughes: There is medical provision at all immigration removal centres. Initial medical examinations of immigration detainees who allege assault would be carried out by the centre's own medical staff. Detainees, or their representatives, can request access to independent medical advice should they so wish. In such circumstances the centres would provide facilities for these examinations.

Detention and Removal Centres

Julia Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Group 4 received a copy of the report completed by Steven Shaw on Yarl's Wood.

Beverley Hughes: I can confirm that Group 4 have been provided with a copy of Stephen Shaw's report concerning allegations of racism at Yarl's Wood as covered in the Daily Mirror article of 8 December 2003.
	The investigation by Stephen Shaw into the fire at Yarl's Wood on 14/15 February 2002 is still ongoing.

Detention and Removal Centres

Julia Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many detainees and ex-detainees were interviewed by Steven Shaw for each of his reports; and how many detainees in total were present on the day of the fire.

Beverley Hughes: With regard to Stephen Shaw's inquiry into allegations of racism at Yarl's Wood, I understand that 30 detainees were interviewed by members of the inquiry team. The Ombudsman also received written notes from some detainees regarding this matter.
	The inquiry into the fire at the centre on 14/15 February 2002 is ongoing. I understand that Mr. Shaw's team has so far spoken directly to some detainees, received signed statements from others, and has reviewed all the statements taken by police during their investigation of the incident, which includes a large number provided by detainees.
	On the day of the fire there were 385 detainees in Yarl's Wood.

Disorder Penalty Notices

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the penalty notice for disorder pilot.

Hazel Blears: Home Office Research Findings summarising the findings of the interim evaluation report of the pilots of penalty notices for disorder scheme, which ran in four police force areas between August 2002 and September 2003, was published today. I have today issued a written statement welcoming the positive findings and placed copies of the findings in the Library.

DNA Testing

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the DNA testing of (a) prisoners and (b) mentally disordered offenders conducted between February and September 2003 was on a (i) voluntary and (ii) compulsory basis; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The DNA Prisoner Sampling Exercise between February and September 2003 aimed to take a DNA sample from all convicted offenders held in Prison or Mental Health Establishments, who did not have a DNA profile on the National DNA Database. Persons held in mental hospitals who had been found unfit to plead or acquitted of an offence on grounds of insanity were also included, if their DNA was not already held on the Database.
	Sections 63(3B) and (9A) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (as amended) provide that a police officer may take a non-intimate body sample from a person who is convicted of a recordable offence on or after 10 April 1995. If the prisoner was convicted prior to 10 April 1995, there is no power to take a non-intimate sample unless he is a person to whom Section 1 of the Criminal Evidence (Amendment) Act 1997 applies. Section 63(3C) of the 1984 Act also provides that a non-intimate sample may be taken from persons who were detained on the order of the court, following their acquittal on the grounds of insanity or a finding of unfitness to plead.
	Sections 63(3B) and (3C) of the 1984 Act provide the power to take a DNA sample whether a prisoner or patient volunteers to give one or not. If a prisoner or patient refuses to give a sample voluntarily, then the police can take one using reasonable force if necessary. Of the 3,772 prisoners and patients sampled, 87 prisoners initially refused to be sampled. 77 of these prisoners subsequently agreed and only 10 had a head hair sample taken non-voluntarily. Patients were only sampled if their doctor gave consent and the patient agreed to provide a DNA sample.

Drug Rehabilitation Schemes (Portsmouth)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been in drug rehabilitation schemes in the area covered by the Portsmouth Drug Action Team, in each year since 200102.

Rosie Winterton: pursuant to her reply, 18 December 2003, Official Report, c. 1056W
	I have been asked to reply.
	I regret that my previous response was incorrect, and the first paragraph should have read as follows.
	Information on people in drug treatment services at drug action team level is collected centrally from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS). However, data broken down by drug action team areas for 200102 and 200203 have not yet been finalised and published.

Drug Treatment and Testing Orders

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to extend drug treatment and testing orders.

Caroline Flint: Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs) have been available to courts in England and Wales since October 2000. The commencement target has been increased from 6,000 orders per year between 200103 to 9,000 orders in 200304. This will increase again to 13,000 orders, including 1,000 of the new lower intensity variant, in 200405 and 16,000 orders, including 4,000 of a lower intensity, in 200506.
	The DTTO will be replaced by the drug rehabilitation requirement of the new Community Order, when the relevant provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 are implemented.

Eastern European Arrivals

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Eastern Europeans have been granted (a) leave to enter the United Kingdom and (b) leave to remain in the United Kingdom pursuant to European Community Association agreements in each of the last 12 months.

Beverley Hughes: This information is not available in the format requested. However, I would refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 12 March 2004, Official Report, column 112WS.

Eastern European Arrivals

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what ministerial instructions have been issued to his departmental staff on changes to requirements on Eastern Europeans seeking to enter the United Kingdom pursuant to European Community Association agreements.

Beverley Hughes: I would refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 12 March 2004, Official Report, column 112WS.

Eastern European Arrivals

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the type of businesses in respect of which permission was granted in relation to Eastern Europeans for (a) leave to remain in the United Kingdom and (b) leave to enter the United Kingdom in the last 12 months pursuant to European Community Association agreements, broken down by number of each type of business.

Beverley Hughes: This information is not routinely collected. However, I would refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 12 March 2004, Official Report, column 112WS.

Electronic Tagging

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the case for using electronic tagging for sex offenders; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: Electronic tagging is already used with some sex offenders to monitor compliance with a curfew requirement, as part of an intensive supervision package. It does not, however, monitor their location as they move from one place to another. We are now actively considering the use of satellite tracking technology, which does monitor location, with a range of offender categories. Subject to the outcome of equipment testing, we hope to start a number of pilot schemes shortly.

Court Escort Contractors

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many miles were driven by prison and court escort contractors in 2003.

Paul Goggins: Vehicles operated by the court escort contractors and Prison Service vehicles covered a combined total of approximately 22,700,000 miles in 2003. This figure covers the movement of prisoners from police stations and prisons to courts; from courts to prisons; and the transfer of prisoners between prisons.

EU Enlargement (Worker Registration)

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the procedure will be for a citizen coming from one of the accession countries to work in the UK on 1 May; and when and how he or she would register with the workers' registration scheme.

Beverley Hughes: Nationals of the new accession countries will need to apply to register with the Home Office as soon as they find and start a job. Applications will be made by post and they will be accepted from 1 May 2004 onwards. Those applying will need to provide information about what job they are doing, for whom, at what wage and where in the country it is.

EU Enlargement (Worker Registration)

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when and how citizens of EU accession countries currently resident in the UK should register on the workers' registration scheme.

Beverley Hughes: The workers registration scheme will be effective from 1 May 2004. Nationals of A-8 countries who are already working legally in the UK will not be required to register with the scheme.

Extraditions (Russia)

Tony Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 12 February 2004, Official Report, column 1715W, on Extraditions (Russia), if he will name the four Russian citizens or ex-citizens who were the subject of an extradition request by the Russian Federation authorities; and whether a decision has been made on the case outstanding as at 12 February.

Caroline Flint: It is not the policy or practice to list the names of those who are or who have been the subject of extradition proceedings. A decision will be taken as soon as possible in the one Russian extradition request which is currently outstanding.

Female Prisoners

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of self-harm were recorded for female prisoners for the last three years for which complete data is available.

Paul Goggins: The figures requested are provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of incidents of self-harm recorded for women prisoners 
		
		
			 2001 2,034 
			 2002 2,493 
			 2003 (29)7,408 
		
	
	(29) In December 2002 new procedures for reporting self-injury were introduced in prisons in England and Wales, and much of the increase in reported self-harm in 2003 may result from this rather than reflect an actual increase in incidence of self-harm.
	The prison population, and particularly the women's estate, contains a substantial number of individuals who have experienced negative life events, all of which are identified as significant risk factors for suicide and self-harm. These include psychiatric disorders, alcohol and drug dependency, family background and relationship problems, as well as histories of self-harm and previous abuse.
	The Prison Service recognises that self-harm is a particular problem among women prisoners, and is currently developing a range of interventions including: individual crisis counselling for women prisoners who self-harm; the continued development and evaluation of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, which is currently being trialled at Durham, Bullwood Hall and Holloway prisons; investment and planning to ensure progress on the detoxification strategy in the Women's Estate; the development of a new, three-stage screening process to more effectively detect mental health problems; and the introduction of a new training pack for all staff working with women in custody, which includes a module on the health and well being of women prisoners.
	One million pounds from the Department of Health has been allocated to the Women's Estate to be spent on the recruitment of psychiatric nurses, and 11 out of the 17 prisons for women now have mental health in-reach facilities. A network of establishments (both male and female) has been set up to develop interventions, facilitate evaluation and share good practice on the subject of self-harm, and guidance to staff on managing people who self-harm has been circulated to all establishments.

Holocaust Memorial Day

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to consult stakeholders on proposed changes in the remit of National Holocaust Memorial Day.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 11 March 2004
	There are no plans to change the remit of Holocaust Memorial Day. Had the Home Office plans to change the remit of the Day, stakeholders would be consulted via the existing advisory group structures.

Holocaust Memorial Day

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Holocaust Memorial Day local activities guidelines packs were sent out in 2004; and how many local authorities commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 11 March 2004
	7,500 local activities guidelines packs, of the version produced specifically for Holocaust Memorial Day 2004, have been distributed in hard copy. The pack was available online at the official Holocaust Memorial Day website and has been downloaded 8,740 times.
	2,083 copies of guidance prepared in conjunction with Churches Together in Britain and Ireland were distributed in hard copy or downloaded.
	We are aware of 146 events organised or part-organised by 99 different local authorities for Holocaust Memorial Day 2004, with a further 194 organised by other groups or individuals outside central or local Government. This total of 340 compares to 244 for Holocaust Memorial Day 2003.
	However, both this year and last the number of local events is likely to have exceeded this number as feedback and monitoring are not comprehensive. These figures also exclude the range of events around Northern Ireland making up the national commemoration, and much activity in schools.

Holocaust Memorial Day

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the remit for Holocaust Memorial Day is.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 11 March 2004
	The key aims of Holocaust Memorial Day are to remember all victims of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution, to raise awareness and understanding of the Holocaust and to promote the continuing importance of its messages (that it should never be forgotten or repeated) by considering those affected by more recent atrocities that raise similar issues. It is also to educate about the dangers of anti-Semitism, racism and all forms of discrimination.
	The 13-point Statement of Purpose, which expands on these aims, can be obtained in full from the Home Office or from the Holocaust Memorial Day website at www.holocaustmemorialday.gov.uk.

Holocaust Memorial Day

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to meet the National Association of British Arabs concerning Holocaust Memorial Day; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 11 March 2004
	I met with representatives of the National Association of British Arabs and the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding on 8 March. The meeting was to discuss issues of domestic concern to British Arabs. Holocaust Memorial Day was not discussed.
	The National Association of British Arabs have not requested a meeting with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to discuss Holocaust Memorial Day and no such meeting is arranged.
	The Home Office would encourage all communities to participate in Holocaust Memorial Day, which raises issues that are relevant to all.

Home Detention Curfew Scheme

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders placed on the home detention curfew scheme between January 1999 and 31 January 2004 (a) have been (i) cautioned and (ii) convicted and (b) are awaiting prosecution, broken down by (A) sex and (B) police authority.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 5 March 2004
	Between the commencement of the home detention curfew scheme in January 1999 and 31 January 2004, 87,250 offenders were placed on the scheme. During that period, the Home Office has been notified of a total of 1,126 offenders who have been either cautioned, convicted or who are awaiting prosecution for an offence committed whilst they were subject to the Home Detention Curfew scheme. Our records do not provide a breakdown of how many of these cases resulted in a caution or conviction or are still awaiting trial. To provide such information would incur a disproportionate cost.
	Of those offenders, 115 were female and 1,011 were male. The table gives the number of offenders for each police authority.. The table gives the number of offenders for each police authority.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 19 
			 Bedfordshire 7 
			 Cambridgeshire 8 
			 Cheshire 18 
			 City of London I 
			 Cleveland 20 
			 Cumbria 6 
			 Derbyshire 34 
			 Devon and Cornwall 15 
			 Dorset II 
			 Durham 11 
			 Dyfed Powys 4 
			 Essex 27 
			 Gloucestershire 3 
			 Greater Manchester 61 
			 Gwent 12 
			 Hampshire 24 
			 Hertfordshire 18 
			 Humberside 12 
			 Kent 12 
			 Lancashire 49 
			 Leicestershire 28 
			 Lincolnshire 13 
			 Merseyside 42 
			 Metropolitan 119 
			 Norfolk 21 
			 North Wales 6 
			 North Yorkshire 16 
			 Northamptonshire 1.9 
			 Northumbria 53 
			 Nottinghamshire 25 
			 South Wales 23 
			 South Yorkshire 46 
			 Staffordshire 31 
			 Suffolk 1 
			 Surrey 10 
			 Sussex 12 
			 Thames Valley 26 
			 Warwickshire 8 
			 West Mercia 19 
			 West Midlands 163 
			 West Yorkshire 66 
			 Wiltshire 7

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect that identity cards have had on the level of identity fraud in other European countries.

Beverley Hughes: The incorporation of advanced biometric information into identity documents and the development of an electronic national identity register were announced by my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, in his statement on a national identity cards scheme. These measures would provide a unique link between the identity card and the person to whom it was issued and help to ensure that fraudsters could not set up multiple identities. This should have a significant impact in reducing identity fraud.
	Home Office officials have had detailed discussions with colleagues involved in the operation of identity card schemes in Italy, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands and comprehensive information has been supplied by each of the EU member states on the operation of their card schemes. Lessons have been learned and where appropriate they have informed the development of our policy for an identity cards scheme.
	Many EU identity card schemes were developed with other specific aims and objectives in mind such as population registration and not specifically implemented for countering identity fraud. As such, many identity cards are issued locally after checking available information e.g. birth certificates, information relating to an applicant's parents. In most EU countries, it is not necessary to give biometric information when applying for an identity card or accessing services.
	The 'Identity Cards: The Next Steps' document (CM 6020) states that applications for one of the family of identity cards will require checks against other databases. These checks would confirm that a person had been known by a certain identity and lived at known addresses for a number of years. This information is more difficult to forge than e.g. birth certificates and follows recommendations made in 'Identity Fraud: A Study' conducted by the Cabinet Office and published in July 2002.
	Many card schemes in other countries have been in place for many years and use mainly paper cards, which do not hold biometric data. With the passage of time, there is an increasing risk that fraudsters could obtain access to modern printing technology and use it to produce forged paper cards for the purpose of committing identity fraud. The absence of a central electronic identity register in many EU countries, increases the risks as an identity card (or biometric data) cannot be checked against a centrally held record of that information. As such organisations checking a card are only able to make visual checks e.g. to check that the photograph on an identity card looks like the person presenting the card and to check for no obvious alterations to the card itself.
	In 'Identity Cards: The Next Steps' the Government stated that the National Identity Register will link each individual record to a biometric. This will prevent multiple identities being established and allow organisations to check a card at a level appropriate for that service.
	The National Identity Register will be a single highly reliable record of a person's identity and will provide a secure means to verify identity where a registered person consents that their information can be verified by that held on the National Identity Register.
	While a modern and effective card scheme would help to combat identity fraud, it does not mean that every card scheme, especially those that have been implemented some time ago, would have a similar or significant effect on countering this type of crime unless they have been regularly updated to stay one step ahead of fraudsters. It is therefore not possible to assess the effect that card schemes in other European countries have had on identity fraud.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what penalties or deterrents are proposed under the identity card scheme for employers who employ people illegally; and how this will differ from the current system.

Beverley Hughes: A common format identification card, able to verify identity to a high standard for all legal residents, would provide employers with a more reliable, quick and easy method of verifying identity and employment eligibility of potential employees. By so doing, it would ensure that employers are able to comply more easily with any requirements of legislation preventing illegal working. These requirements and the associated penalties are contained in immigration legislation, currently section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how an identity card will aid the police; and how this improves on tools and methods they already have in place.

Beverley Hughes: Identity fraud costs the economy at least 1.3 billion every year. Terrorists use false and multiple identities to help undertake and finance their activities in the United Kingdom and abroad. False and multiple identities are also essential tools of the trade for organised crime to facilitate money laundering and also other crimes such as people-trafficking and drug-trafficking. The development of unique identifiers linked to the National Identity Register will help tackle these problems allowing the police and other organisations greater certainty in the identification of individuals and helping prevent multiple identities being used for such purposes.
	There is the potential for an identity cards scheme to assist shops owners and licensees control the sale of age-related products. The Government's plans for a national identity cards scheme would provide a nationally accepted and secure way of proving and determining age. Our current best cost estimates would fund the issuing of cards free to all 16-year-olds.
	We would also expect that improvements in identity verification through the use of the card and central database will free up police time and resources. For example, the police would be able to check the biometric/card of an arrested person where no match is found on police records. There would be no need to require a card to be carried or produced because of the ability to check biometric information directly with National Identity Register. There are also cases where people may voluntarily show a card or allow biometric information to be checked, for instance after a road traffic incident.
	Finally, while the police and other organisations will not have routine access to data stored on the National Identity Register, such access would be authorised in certain specific circumstances, for example the investigation of serious crime.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) mechanisms and (b) compensation schemes are proposed under the identity card scheme for individuals whose biometric data is compromised.

Beverley Hughes: It is too early at present to specify the exact procedures that will need to be in place if an individual's biometric data is compromised. However, as with any database of personal information, there will be a legal obligation under the Data Protection Act 1998 for the controller of the National Identity Register to ensure that the information held is accurate and secure and an avenue of complaint to the Information Commissioner is open in cases where any complaint cannot be resolved by the controller. Biometric information is no different from other types of personal information with regard to this obligation.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the advantages gained by other countries after the introduction of identity cards.

Beverley Hughes: Identity card schemes have existed in all EU countries for many years, with the exception of Denmark and Ireland.
	Home Office officials have had detailed discussions with colleagues involved in the operation of identity card schemes in Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany and lessons learned have informed the development of policy where appropriate.
	In addition, comprehensive information has been supplied by each of the EU member states on the operation of their card schemes, including the benefits associated with the card scheme.
	Identity cards in most EU countries are used widely in dealings with central and local government and private sector organisations to establish identity and entitlement to services more securely. Databases of identity card holders are often used to help plan for, and administer, services more efficiently, and ensure that services are accessed by those entitled to receive them.
	Many EU countries consider identity cards to be an important way of tackling illegal immigration and illegal working by reducing the 'pull factors' which attract illegal immigrants to their countries.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research has been conducted to establish the level of security threats in countries that have ID cards.

Beverley Hughes: There are very many factors which affect the level of security threats and it would not be possible to correlate the level of threat in different countries with their use of ID cards.
	Terrorists use false and multiple identities to help undertake and finance their activities in the UK and abroad. The development of unique identifiers linked to the National Identity Register will help to disrupt terrorist activity and protect the public.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the consequences will be for refusal to identify oneself by the production of an identity card;
	(2)  if he will specify that organisations should not rely solely on an identity card to establish a person's identity.

Beverley Hughes: There will be no new power for the police to stop someone and demand them to produce their identity card. There will be no new sanctions against a person who refuses to identify themselves to the police either by means of an identity card or otherwise. However, the police do have powers to take steps to identify a person who has been arrested.
	One of the key aims of the identity cards scheme is to ensure that free public services are only used by those entitled to them. As set out in Identity Cards: the next steps Cm 6020, production of a card to access public services will be in ways defined by those services. In the case of those services for which the devolved Administrations have responsibility, decisions on production of a card to access those services would be a matter for them. We are clear however that the use of the card for access to free public services would not prevent people without cards from accessing emergency services and a card would not be mandatory for verification of entitlement to other services until the appropriate further parliamentary decision on a move to compulsion.
	There is also the potential to check identity against the National Identity Register without the production of a card since each individual's record is linked to a biometric that is unique to that person. This means that even without a card being produced, it will be possible to check someone's biometric information directly with the National Identity Register to establish his or her identity. This could be done with the person's consent or without consent in certain limited circumstances such as establishing the identity of arrested persons.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations his Department has held with members of minority groups regarding identity cards.

Beverley Hughes: During the consultation process on what were then called entitlement cards the Home Office carried out quantitative research among the general public. A separate study was carried out among members of black and minority ethnic groups. The results of these surveys can be found in Identity Cards: A Summary of Findings from the Consultation Exercise on Entitlement Cards and Identity Fraud (CM6019) published in November 2003. Discussions continue between the Home Office and representative organisations like the Commission for Racial Equality and members of the Race Equality Advisory Panel.
	The consultation also included qualitative research in focus groups and submissions were received from representatives of special interest groups, for example, the homeless, travellers, people living in rural areas and transgendered people. Full details can be found in the publication referred to above.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  under what circumstances local authorities check a person's identity; what difficulties in making such checks have been reported to him by local authorities; and how he expects the introduction of a national identity card to remedy these problems;
	(2)  what consultation he (a) has held and (b) plans to hold with local authorities regarding the national identity card scheme.

Beverley Hughes: Copies of the Government's Consultation Paper on the proposals for what were then called entitlement cards were sent to all local authorities in England and Wales and to all 32 councils in Scotland. Responses were received from 45 individual councils and from the Local Government Association (LGA). A summary of their comments can be found in the document Identity Cards: A Summary of Findings from the Consultation Exercise on Entitlement Cards and Identity Fraud (CM 6019 of November 2003). During the consultation period officials gave presentations to the LGA, the Welsh Local Authorities Forum, Local Authority Fraud Investigators and Local Authority Policy Officers. Contacts are maintained between the Home Office officials and the LGA.
	Local authorities, like other organisations which interface with the public and provide services, are responsible for deciding how, and in what circumstances, they need to check someone's identity. While we have no record of any problems connected with identity checks by local authorities being reported to the Home Office, many local authorities welcomed the more reliable identity checks which would be facilitated by our scheme. A national identity card would help all service providers, including local authorities, by providing a single, secure and verifiable identity for all citizens and for foreign nationals legally resident here for more than three months. It will be for service providers to decide how they will use the card in the context of access to their services.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what powers police officers have to establish a person's identity;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on how identity cards will assist the police in stop and searches if carrying a card is to be voluntary.

Beverley Hughes: The police have powers to take steps to identify a person who has been arrested including checking biometric information. There are also classes of criminal offences which are non-arrestable and are enforced by sending a summons. In these situations, the police have to be certain of a person's name and address. If a person refuses to identify themselves in these circumstances or the police are not satisfied with the information given, they have a power of arrest after which biometric checks can be made.
	Sections 9 and 10 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 has extended the circumstances in which the police may record biometric information without consent to include recording from a person arrested for a recordable offence and detained in a police station. This addition to s61 and 63 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 will prevent persons who come into police custody and who may be wanted on a warrant or for questioning on other matters from avoiding detection by giving the police a false name and address. These provisions come into effect on 5 April 2004.
	The National Identity Register will link each individual's record to a biometric that is unique to that person. This means that even without a card being produced, it will be possible to check someone's biometric information directly with the National Identity Register to establish his or her identity. This could be done with the person's consent or without consent in certain limited circumstances such as establishing the identity of arrested persons in line with the powers set out above.

Internet

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to prevent the circulation of offensive material through the internet; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: We continue to seek ways to disrupt the circulation of obscene and other illegal material on the internet through the criminal law and by co-operation with the authorities in other countries such as the United States of America, and with industry partners.

Jim Stephens

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the application of Mr. Jim Stephens, Ref. 51178115, to remain in the United Kingdom to be determined.

Beverley Hughes: Mr. Stephens' appeal against the refusal of leave to remain in the United Kingdom was forwarded to the Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA) on 9 March. The IAA will notify Mr. Stephens of an appeal hearing date in due course.

Neighbourhood Watch Schemes

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) resident groups and (b) community watch schemes in preventing crime.

Hazel Blears: There has been no formal Home Office assessment of the effectiveness of residents' groups and watch schemes in reducing crime, although some individual projects have been evaluated.
	Anecdotal evidence suggests that both resident groups and community watch schemes are effective in bringing communities together to prevent crime and reduce fear of crime.
	Tenants' and residents' groups are particularly successful at building community spirit and articulating local needs and concerns resulting in enhanced trust and co-operation with Police.
	Neighbourhood watch schemes are also regarded as one of the most effective examples in preventing crime and reducing the fear of crime. Over 155,000 Neighbourhood Watch schemes operate throughout the United Kingdom covering up to 27 per cent. of all households. 75 per cent. of the respondents to the 2000 British Crime Survey felt that Neighbourhood Watch schemes were effective in preventing crimes such as burglary.
	The Home Office are in the process developing an Active Citizenship Centre, a virtual resource, to provide an overarching framework to assess systematically the evidence of the impact of citizens giving up their time to help their local community.

Prisoners (Accommodation on Release)

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were released from custodial sentence in the (a) most recent year for which figures are available, (b) previous three years and (c) previous five years; how many prisoners gave no fixed abode (NFA) as their address on release from custodial sentence; how many paedophiles were released from custodial sentence within these periods; and how many paedophiles gave NFA as their address within these periods on release from custodial sentence.

Paul Goggins: Information on the number of prisoners released from determinate sentences is given in the table.
	
		Persons discharged from determinate sentences(30): 19982003
		
			  
		
		
			 1998 84,693 
			 1999 89,765 
			 2000 89,154 
			 2001 85,290 
			 2002 88,330 
			 2003 86,995 
		
	
	(30) Excludes discharges following recall after release on licence, civil prisoners and fine defaulters
	The Prison Service undertook a large-scale survey in March and April 2003 of sentenced prisoners nearing release. 29 per cent. said they did not have accommodation arranged on release, compared to 33 per cent. in a similar survey undertaken in November and December 2001. These surveys did not look separately at prisoners convicted of sex offences. However, Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) provide a framework within which different agencies work together to manage the risks posed by sex offenders living in the community, including those arising from the absence of stable accommodation. The resettlement of sex offenders posing a serious risk of harm to the public is jointly managed by the police and the National Probation Service within these arrangements.
	Registered sex offenders are also subject to the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Act 1997. They are required to provide the police with their home address within three days of their release from prison. Where an offender does not have a home address (which is his sole or main residence in the United Kingdom), he is required to provide the police with an address of premises in the UK that he regularly visits.
	Provisions in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 will formalise this multi-agency engagement by imposing a duty to co-operate with the MAPPA on a number of agencies, including local housing authorities and relevant registered social landlords.

National Offender Management Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the police (a) have been and (b) will be consulted about supervision arrangements under the proposed National Offender Management Service structure.

Paul Goggins: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) implementation team has had discussions with members of the Police Service regarding the proposed NOMS structure and this will continue. The Association of Chief Police Officers have also received copies of the Reducing CrimeChanging Lives document which sets out the Government's proposals for the reform of correctional services and sought views on implementation issues for the new National Offender Management Service.

Operation Safeguard

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost per prisoner per night of detention in a police cell under Operation Safeguard is, broken down by police force area.

Paul Goggins: There are currently no prisoners being held under Operation Safeguard in England and Wales, therefore there are no costs associated with the arrangement. For the average daily cost the last time Operation Safeguard was employed, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 December 2003, column 237W and 19 January 2004, column. 982W.

Persistent Offenders

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to reduce persistent offending through targeting prolific offenders in (a) Ribble Valley and Fulwood and (b) Lancashire in each of the last five years; and whether such schemes are being trialled.

Paul Goggins: There are a number of initiatives to tackle persistent offenders in Ribble Valley, Fulwood and throughout Lancashire, which support the aims of the national Persistent Offender Scheme.
	One such initiative is Operation Outmost. This is a trial cross-border police operation involving staff from Lancashire, North Yorkshire and British Transport Police. It targets persistent offenders who operate in rural areas such as Ribble Valley.
	The Preston Tower Project, which covers Fullwood, was launched in 2002. It is an initiative targeting prolific offenders with drug addiction. In the area covered by the project there has been a 19 per cent. reduction in burglary (dwellings) and a 42 per cent. reduction in vehicle crime in the last 11 months. Other areas of Lancashire already have or are developing similar projects.
	The Jigsaw Project, is a resettlement project that engages with 100 persistent offenders in Lancashire aged between 18 and 20-years-old. The project aids resettlement by linking into local drug treatment services.
	In October 2003, Lord Falconer launched the North West's Prisoner Resettlement Strategy. The central purpose of the Strategy, which concentrates on persistent offenders, is to reduce crime and prevent re-offending through a co-ordinated and integrated Resettlement and Rehabilitation Strategy. Preston City Council, which covers Fulwood, is engaged in this work along with Blackburn and Darwen Councils.
	An Intensive Control and Change Programme (ICCP) targeting persistent offenders aged 18 to 20-year-olds is running throughout Lancashire. Offenders are tagged and undergo intensive supervision during the day. They are kept off the streets by an overnight curfew.
	All the other schemes except Operation Outmost are fully operational.

Police Cells

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list police station cells which have been certified in the manner required by section 14 of the Prison Act 1952.

Paul Goggins: The requirement in the Prison Act 1952 for the certification of cells does not apply to police cells. Under section 6 of the Imprisonment (Temporary Provisions) Act 1980, persons who may lawfully be detained in penal institutions in England and Wales, may be detained in police cells under the custody of a constable.

Prison Buildings

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the value of prison buildings in central (a) London, (b) Liverpool, (c) Leeds, (d) Manchester, (e) Sheffield and (f) Birmingham; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The value of prison buildings used in the accounts calculated on a depreciated replacement cost basis which does not necessarily represent their disposal value. On this basis the current values of prisons in central city areas are:
	
		Prisons in central city areas
		
			   
		
		
			 London 281,846,103 
			 Liverpool 36,258,996 
			 Leeds 27,264,606 
			 Manchester 95,164,527 
			 Sheffield none 
			 Birmingham 58,721,713

Prisoner Discharge Grants

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the current prisoner discharge grant amounts to; when it was last revised; and what plans he has to re-examine the level of grant.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 11 March 2004
	The standard rates of discharge grant paid are 46.75 (for prisoners aged 25 and older) or 37 (for prisoners aged 18 to 24). A higher rate of discharge grant (94.40) is paid to prisoners on release only if there is a need to seek, obtain and pay for accommodation. It is only paid to prisoners with no accommodation arranged in advance if this arises through no fault of the prisoner. The current rates were set in 1995.
	The Government are drawing up a National Rehabilitation Action Plan responding to the July 2002 Social Exclusion Unit report on reducing re-offending by released prisoners. The discharge grant is being reviewed as a part of this work.

Prisoner Statistics

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) women and (b) men were being held in prison on 8 March.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 11 March 2004
	On 8 March 2004 there were 4,560 women and 70,447 men being held in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales.

Prisoner Statistics

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were eligible on 8 March for early release.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 11 March 2004
	Information on the number of prisoners who were eligible for early release on 8 March 2004 is not yet available.

Prisoner Statistics

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were released on 8 March on early release.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 11 March 2004
	Information on the number of prisoners who were released on 8 March 2004 on early release is not yet available.

Prisoner Statistics

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were eligible for early release on 9 March.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 12 March 2004
	I refer the hon. Member to my answer to her previous question (160638].

Prisoner Statistics

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were released on early release on 9 March.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 12 March 2004
	I refer the hon. Member to my answer to her previous question (160639).

Prisoner Statistics

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were released on (a) 8 March and (b) 9 March.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 12 March 2004
	Information on the number of prisoners who were released on 8 March 2004 and 9 March 2004 is not yet available.

Prisoner Statistics

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners there are in English prisons; and how many of these are in privately run prisons.

Paul Goggins: On 30 November 2003, there were 71,706 prisoners in English prisons. Of these, 5,709 were in privately run prisons.

Prisoner Statistics

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the new prison wing for elderly prisoners in HMP Norwich will open; and what facilities will be provided in this wing that are unique to the care of the elderly.

Paul Goggins: The Elderly Life Sentence Prisoner unit at HMP/YOI Norwich is scheduled to open in late June 2004. Upon completion, this residential unit will provide accommodation to 15 elderly prisoners.
	The design of the unit is sympathetic to the needs of the elderly. It is being built in a discrete area of the prison and all facilities are situated at ground floor level. The unit will fully comply with the Disability Discrimination Act.

Prisoner Statistics

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the most recent average cost per year is of (a) keeping a prisoner in a general prison and (b) keeping a prisoner aged 65 years or over in HMP Kingston's specialised wing.

Paul Goggins: The average cost across all establishments of keeping a prisoner during the financial year 200203 was 24,241. This figure is expressed in resource terms, excluding headquarters costs, but including items such as the cost of capital and the cost of depreciation on Prison Service assets.
	The Prison Service does not hold information on the costs of keeping individual groups of prisoners in particular prisons. The costs of keeping prisoners over the age of 65 in HMP Kingston are embedded in the broader costs of running the whole establishment and cannot be disaggregated.

Prisoner Statistics

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners absconded from category D prisons in each year since 1997.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 5 March 2004
	Categorisation relates to prisoners not prisons. Category D prisoners are those who it is assessed can be reasonably trusted in open conditions and the majority are held in open or semi-open prisons. Absconds from semi-open prisons are very few. The table shows the numbers of absconds in each year reported by open prisons.
	
		
			  Number of absconds 
		
		
			 1997 1,012 
			 1998 880 
			 1999 840 
			 2000 781 
			 2001 743 
			 2002 825 
			 2003 1,224

Prisoner Statistics

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed suicide attempts took place in prisons in England and Wales in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003.

Paul Goggins: Suicidal intent is difficult to establish. Data recording incidents of 'attempted suicide' are subsumed within those for self-harm, which covers all acts of self-injury.
	Good care and support from staff saves many lives; 154 prisoners were resuscitated following self-harm incidents in 2002, and a further 211 prisoners were resuscitated in 2003. Reducing the number of self-inflicted deaths and instances of self-harm in prison establishments is a priority for Ministers and the Prison Service. A three-year programme to develop policies and practices to reduce prisoner suicide and manage self-harm in prisons is currently drawing to a close. The results of this programme and complementary research will inform future suicide prevention and self-harm management strategy.

Prisoner Statistics

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  why prison is becoming a more common form of punishment;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on changes in (a) custody rates and (b) sentence lengths.

Paul Goggins: The main reason for the increased use of prison is the increased severity of sentencing. At magistrates courts the custody rate for indictable offences was 15 per cent. in 2002. This compares with 14 per cent. in 2001, ten per cent. in 1997 and five per cent. in 1992.
	At the Crown court the custody rate for indictable offences was 63 per cent. in 2002, the same as in 2001. This compares with 60 per cent. in 1997 and 44 per cent. in 1992. For males aged 21 or over the average custodial sentence length was 27.8 months in 2002. This compares with 26.0 months in 2001, 24.2 months in 1997 and 21.1 months in 1992.
	The new Sentencing Guidelines Council met for the first time on 5 March 2004 and will provide a comprehensive set of sentencing guidelines for all offences. This will enable all courts and practitioners to adopt a consistent approach to sentencing.

Probation Cases

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases were dealt with on average per probation officer in the last year for which figures are available; and what the projected caseload is in the next three years.

Paul Goggins: The average number of offenders on supervision per officer 1 as at 31 December 2002 was 21.0.
	The projected probation service caseload for the next three years for England and Wales is as follows:
	
		
			  Total 
		
		
			 200304 225,000 
			 200405 233,500 
			 200506 248,800 
		
	
	Figures for projected caseload per officer are not available.
	1 This includes Maingrade Probation Officers, Senior Probation Officers, temporary Probation Officers, Senior Practitioners and Probation Services Officers, all of whom are involved with the supervision of offenders.

Re-offending

Keith Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish his latest action plan following the recommendations contained in the Social Exclusion Unit report on Reducing Re-offending by Ex-prisoners.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 1 March 2004
	The Home Office will shortly publish a National Rehabilitation Action Plan which will form the Government's initial response to the Social Exclusion Unit's report.

Restorative Justice

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether restorative justice is used within the justice system;
	(2)  what research he has conducted into the (a) effectiveness and (b) viability of restorative justice.

Paul Goggins: Restorative justice brings victims (who wish it) and offenders into a process of managed communication in order to repair the harm caused by the offence.
	It is an integral part of a number of interventions in the youth justice system. Final Warnings are increasingly administered restoratively and Referral Orders, rolled out nationally in April 2002, are based on restorative principles.
	In the adult justice system, several police forces facilitate restorative cautions and the Criminal Justice Act 2003 will introduce the new conditional caution, planned for use later this year, which police will be able to administer restoratively. Work has also been carried out in a number of probation areas and in several prisons.
	The Government are keen to build on these developments.
	There is already strong evidence that victims benefit; studies suggest that at least 75 per cent. of victims who take part in restorative justice are glad they did so. Research into the Referral Order has shown that victims' experiences were overwhelmingly positive.
	International studies and early evidence from the United Kingdom about the effects on re-offending is encouraging but inconclusive. There is a need for further research, in particular regarding the effects for different offence types. This is why, as part of the Crime Reduction Programme, the Home Office funded three pilot schemes to test the effectiveness of restorative justice for adults at various stages of the criminal justice system. The first report of an independent evaluation of these schemes is planned for Autumn 2004 with a final report in 2007.
	The Home Office is also developing a research project to evaluate restorative justice as a diversion from prosecution. This is planned to commence in 2004.

Robert Dymond

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when transport will be provided to convey Robert Dymond from HMP Altcourse to HMP Guys Marsh; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 1 March 2004
	I have been assured that Mr. Dymond will be transferred to HMP Guys Marsh during week commencing 8 March 2004.
	Arrangements had been made to transfer Mr. Dymond to HMP Guys Marsh week commencing 9 February, however due to continuing population pressures and the need to redirect transport to help ease these pressures in the north west the transfer was postponed.

Sentencing Guidelines Council

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the (a) work and (b) effectiveness of the Sentencing Guidelines Council will be assessed.

Paul Goggins: The Sentencing Guidelines Council has only just been established. In the longer term we expect to see evidence of its effectiveness in terms of greater consistency in sentencing.
	The Government believes that prison should be reserved for serious, dangerous and seriously persistent offenders, and that others are better punished in the community. The Council's work will lead to greater consistency in sentencing , and to a rebalancing between the use of custody and community sentences. As early priorities, the Council will formulate guidelines on sexual offences and on the new generic community sentence. More consistent and effective sentencing should in turn lead to a reduction in re-offending.

Shaw Inquiry Reports

Patrick Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish the reports of the inquiries by Steven Shaw into (a) allegations of racism among Group 4/Global Solutions staff at the Yarl's Wood detention centre and (b) the lessons learned from the Yarl's Wood fire.

Beverley Hughes: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North-East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt) on 2 March 2004, Official Report, column 906W.

Supervision and Monitoring Schemes

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what areas intensive supervision and monitoring schemes will be implemented.

Paul Goggins: Currently there are 14 Intensive Supervision and Monitoring Schemes (ISMs) running in Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Grimsby, Hastings, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Nottingham and Stoke funded or part-funded by the National Probation Service until March 2004.
	The proposals contained in Reducing CrimeChanging Lives and the provisions contained in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 will shape the way work with persistent offenders is developed in the future. Many elements of the ISMs will satisfy the requirements of the new generic sentence, and will also contribute to Custody Minus, Intermittent Custody and other intensive interventions such as the Intensive Control and Change Programme.
	Future plans to work with persistent offenders will also be incorporated into the regional resettlement strategies which are currently being developed.

Travellers (Photographic Images)

David Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  for how long and where photographic images of travellers using (a) Dover Docks and (b) other ports are stored; and to what purpose they are put;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the use of cameras to photograph travellers using (a) Dover Docks and (b) other ports;
	(3)  how many people are employed in taking, processing, reviewing and storing photographic images stored of travellers using (a) Dover Docks and (b) other ports; and by whom they are employed;
	(4)  when he expects to reply to the letter of 15 January from the hon. Member for Spelthorne, (Home Office reference: PO2079/4) regarding the use of cameras to photograph travellers at Dover Docks.

Beverley Hughes: The police and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise (HMCE) have a key role in combating organised crime at ports, including terrorism. Kent Police and HMCE jointly operate a frontier control Automatic Number Plate Reader (ANPR) system at some Kent ports. This system reads the vehicle registrations of passing vehicles, and, at various key locations within the port, captures passing vehicles and drivers on camera. The system is automatic and entails no physical human intervention.
	The system is operated with due regard to the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) guidance on the operation of ANPR, and within the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. Images are retained for one year. In the interest of operational security I am unable to release information about where the images are stored.
	The ANPR system is administered by three dedicated staff: (two from Her Majesty Customs and one from Kent Police). Two other Kent Police staff are dedicated to the technical maintenance of the system. In addition to the ANPR system, Her Majesty's Customs and Excise use Closed Circuit Television to assist in cases of complaint against the actions of officers and in cases of assault on their officers.
	Images of travellers are kept for a limited period only, normally a week, unless there is reason to keep them for evidential purposes.

Westminster Hall

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to have senior Ministers reply to debates in Westminster Hall.

David Blunkett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Leader of the House on 8 March 2004, Official Report, column 1234W.

Young Offenders

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the most recent figures are for the proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds who have (a) been in custody and (b) served a period of community service who subsequently (i) re-offend and (ii) are reconvicted.

Paul Goggins: Data on reoffending are not available.
	78 per cent. of 16, 17 and 18-year-olds discharged from custody in 1999 were reconvicted of a standard list offence within two years.
	76 per cent. of 16, 17 and 18-year-olds commencing community sentences in 1999 were reconvicted of a standard list offence within two years.
	The reconviction rates supplied are not adjusted to take out convictions for offences committed prior to either discharge from custody or commencement of the community sentence. Hence some of these reconvictions may not represent reoffending subsequent to custodial discharge or commencement of community sentence.
	Reconviction rates should not be used to compare effectiveness between different sentences. This is because the characteristics of offenders receiving different types of sentences may be quite different.

Young Offenders

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the place of education within young offenders' institutions.

Paul Goggins: In order to have an impact on reducing re-offending, the disproportionately low skills and exclusion from learning among young people coming into custody must be addressed. The Prison Service aims to equip all offenders with the skills to enhance their employabilityproviding them with an alternative to crimeand to enable them to make a positive contribution to society.
	Additional money has been invested this year in learning for young offenders aged 18. The Prison Service is looking to Heads of Learning and Skills in each establishment to promote a culture of learning so that we can continue to widen access and improve quality.

Young Offenders

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what opportunities exist for young offenders to obtain educational (a) qualifications and (b) accreditation.

Paul Goggins: Every Young Offender Institution has an education department which is required to offer mainstream qualifications as delivered in community settings. Most of these are divided into modules enabling short-term prisoners to work towards a full qualification, which can then be completed upon their release. Literacy and numeracy are assessed using a national test that is available weekly.
	This year, additional funding of over 4 million has been provided to enable the Young Offender and female estate to buy in and support more teaching hours. Heads of Learning and Skills in each Young Offender Institute are helping to increase accredited learning opportunities across the range of activities such as vocational training, supported by 20 million of capital investment through our learning to earning programme.

Young Offenders

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has made to (a) assess the extent of and (b) treat gambling among offenders, with particular reference to young offenders.

Paul Goggins: The new adult Offender Assessment System, (OASys,) developed jointly by the Prison and Probation Services and currently being rolled-out, contains a question on budgeting that provides offenders with an opportunity to raise matters about financial difficulties related to gambling. In addition, OASys contains a self-assessment questionnaire for offenders that includes a question asking whether gambling is a problem for them and, if so, whether it is linked to their offending. Analysis of a sample of self-assessments in 2003 for 711 prisoners showed that 2 per cent. said that gambling was a problem and 0.4 per cent. said it was linked to their offending. A sample of about 2,200 offenders under probation showed that 2.3 per cent. said that gambling was a problem and 0.7 per cent. said it was linked to their offending.
	The Youth Justice Board uses a separate assessment system for juvenile offenders (aged under 18 years) called ASSET, which provides an opportunity to detail any problems that should be highlighted and this could include gambling.
	Treatment for offenders with gambling problems, whether adults, young offenders or juveniles, is left to the discretion of individual prisons, young offender institutions, probation areas and youth offending teams. A number have established links with organisations such as Gamblers Anonymous and GamCare to provide assistance for offenders with gambling addiction problems, by individual referrals or through groups. Probation areas may also make referrals to Gordon House, a specialist hostel for gamblers.